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ELEVATION  OF  FAQADE  OF  COLOGNE  CATHEDRAL, 
AS  IT  AVIM.  AIM^KAR  AVHEX  COMPLETKD. 


Architectur  Frontis. 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE 

m  ALL  COUNTEIES. 

FBOM  THE  EABLIEUT  TIMES  TO  THE  PBESENT  DAY. 


BY 

JAMES  FERGUSSON,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S.,  M.R.A.S., 

FELLOW  ROYAL   INST.  BRIT.  ARCHITECTS,  ETC.,  ETC. 


SECTION  OF  THE  PARTHENON,  SHOWING  THE  MODE  IN  WHICH  LIGHT  WAS  ADMITTED. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 

Vol.  I. 


NEW  YORK: 
DODD,  MEAD,  AND  COMPANY. 
Publishers. 


PEEFACE  TO  SECOISD  EDITION. 


DURING  the  period  that  has  elapsed  since  the  first  edition  of  this 
work  was  published,^  no  important  work  on  the  History  of  Ar- 
chitecture has  appeared  which  throws  any  new  light  on  either  the 
theory  or  practice  of  the  art,  and,  except  in  India,  no  new  buildings 
have  been  discovered  and  no  monographs  published  that  materially 
add  to  our  general  stores  of  knowledge. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  appears  to  be  that  the  architectural  pro- 
ductions of  all  the  countries  mentioned  in  these  two  volumes  have 
been  examined  and  described  to  a  sufficient  extent  for  the  purposes 
of  the  general  historian.  A  great  deal  of  course  remains  to  be  done 
before  all  the  information  required  for  the  student  of  any  particular 
style  can  be  supplied,  but  nothing  of  any  great  importance  probably 
remains  to  be  discovered  in  the  countries  of  the  Old  World,  nor  any- 
thing that  is  at  all  likely  to  alter  any  views  or  theories  founded  on 
what  we  at  present  know. 

The  one  exception  to  this  satisfactory  state  of  things  is  our  knowl- 
edge, or  rather  want  of  knowledge,  regarding  the  history  of  the 
ancient  architecture  of  the  New  World,  treated  of  in  the  last  few  pages 
of  this  work.  No  important  addition  has  lately  been  made  to  the 
little  we  knew  before,  and  it  is  now  to  be  feared  that  Mr.  Squier's  long- 
expected  work  on  the  Antiquities  of  Peru  may  never  see  the  light,  at 
least  not  under  the  auspices  of  its  author,  and  the  Count  de  Waldeck's 
work  adds  very  little,  if  anything,  to  what  we  knew  before.^  What 
is  really  wanted  is  that  some  one  should  make  himself  personally  ac- 
quainted with  all  the  various  styles  existing  between  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Colorado  and  the  desert  of  Atacama  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be 
able  to  establish  the  relative  sequence  of  their  dates  and  to  detect 
affinities  where  they  exist,  or  to  point  out  differences  that  escape  the 


1  The  first  volume  was  published  in  1865;  the  second  in  1867. 
2  See  note,  vol.  ii.  p.  576. 

iii 


iv 


PREFACE. 


casual  observer.  Photography  may  in  the  next  few  years  do  some- 
thing towards  enabling  stay-at-home  travellers  to  do  a  good  deal 
towards  this,  but  photography  will  never  do  all,  and  local  knowledge 
is  indispensable  for  the  exact  determination  of  many  now  obscure 
questions.  The  problem  is  in  fact  identical  with  that  presented  to 
Indian  antiquaries  some  thirty  years  ago.  At  that  time  we  knew  less 
of  the  history  of  Indian  architecture  than  we  now  know  of  American, 
but  at  the  present  day  the  date  of  every  building  and  every  cave  in 
India  can  be  determined  with  almost  absolute  certainty  to  within 
fifty,  or  at  the  outside  one  hundred,  years ;  the  sequence  is  every- 
where certain,  and  all  can  be  referred  to  the  race  and  religion  that 
practised  that  peculiar  style.  In  America  there  are  the  same  strongly- 
marked  local  peculiarities  of  style  as  in  India,  accompanied  by  equally 
easily  detected  affinities  or  differences,  and  what  has  been  done  for 
India  could,  I  am  convinced,  easily  be  accomplished  for  America,  and 
even  with  more  satisfactory  and  more  important  results  to  the  history 
and  ethnography  of  that  great  country. 

The  subject  is  well  worthy  of  the  attention  of  any  one  who  may 
undertake  it,  as  it  is  the  only  means  we  now  know  of  by  which  the 
ancient  history  of  the  country  can  be  recovered  from  the  darkness 
that  now  enshrouds  it,  and  the  connection  of  the  Old  World  with  the 
New — if  any  existed  —  can  be  traced,  but  it  is  practically  the  only 
chapter  in  the  history  of  architecture  which  remains  to  be  written. 

Notwithstanding  this  paucity  of  new  material,  the  completion  of 
M.  Place's  great  work  on  Khorsabad,  Wood's  explorations  at  Ephesus, 
Dr.  Tristram's  travels  in  Moab,  with  other  minor  works,  and  new 
photographs  of  other  places,  have  furnished  some  twenty  or  thirty 
woodcuts  to  this  work,  either  of  new  examples  or  in  substitution  for 
less  perfect  illustrations.  More  than  this,  the  experience  gained  in 
the  interval  from  reading,  and  personal  familiarity  with  buildings  not 
before  visited,  especially  in  Italy,  have  enabled  me  to  add  consider- 
ably to  the  text,  and  to  correct  or  modify  impressions  based  on  less 
perfect  information.  These,  with  a  careful  revision  of  the  text 
throughout,  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  found  to  render  this  edition  an  im- 
provement to  a  considerable  extent  over  that  which  preceded  it. 

As  mentioned  in  the  preface  to  the  volume  containing  the  History 
of  the  Modern  Styles  of  Architecture,  the  scheme  of  the  present 


PREFACE. 


V 


edition  is  that  the  two  vohimes  novv^  published  shall  contain  a  descrij> 
tion  of  all  the  ancient  styles  of  architecture  known  to  exist  either  in 
the  Old  or  New  World,  except  India. 

In  the  first  edition  the  Indian  styles  occupied  about  300  pages, 
and  were  illustrated  by  200  woodcuts.  In  the  present  one  it  is  pro- 
posed to  double  the  extent  of  the  text  and  to  add  such  further  illus- 
trations as  may  be  found  requisite  fully  to  illustrate  the  subject. 
When  this  is  done  it  will  form  a  separate  volume,  either  the  third  of 
the  general  History  of  Architecture  or  a  complete  and  independent 
work  by  itself,  and  sold  separately.  If  nothing  imforeseen  occurs  to 
prevent  it,  it  is  expected  that  the  work  will  be  published  before  the 
end  of  next  year  (1875). 

The  History  of  the  Modern  Styles  of  Architecture,*  published  last 
year,  will  then  form  the  fourth  and  concluding  volume  of  the  work, 
or  may  be  considered  as  a  complete  and  independent  treatise,  and, 
like  the  volume  containing  the  History  of  Indian  Architecture,  will 
be  sold  separately. 

As  stated  in  the  preface  to  the  first  edition,  it  was  orginally  intended 
that  chapters  should  be  added  on  what  were  then  known  as  Celtic  or 
Druidical  remains.  When,  however,  the  subject  came  to  be  carefully 
looked  into  for  that  purpose,  it  was  found  that  the  whole  was  such  a 
confused  mass  of  conflicting  theories  and  dreams,  that  no  facts  or 
dates  were  so  established  that  they  could  be  treated  as  historical. 
The  consequence  was  that  the  materials  collected  for  the  purpose 
were,  in  1872,  published  in  a  separate  volume,  entitled  "  Rude  Stone 
Monuments,"  in  the  form  rather  of  an  argument  than  of  a  history. 

As  was  to  be  expected,  a  work  of  that  nature,  and  which  attacked 
the  established  faith  in  the  Druids,  has  been  exposed  to  a  considerable 
amount  of  hostile  criticism,  but  nothing  has  yet  appeared  that  at  all 
touches  the  marrow  of  the  question  or  invalidates  any  of  the  more 
important  conclusions  therein  arrived  at.  On  the  other  hand,  every- 
thing that  has  since  come  to  light  has  tended  to  confirm  them  in  a  most 
satisfactory  manner.  Colonel  Brunon's  researches,  for  instance,  at  and 
around  the  Madras'en,  in  Algeria,  have  proved  that  the  tumuli  in  that 
cemetery  belong  to  Roman  times.^  In  India  sculptured  and  inscribed 
dolmens  have  been  dug  up  and  photographed,  so  that  their  age  is  no 


"  Memoire  sur  les  Fouilles  execute  au  Madras'en,"  Constantine,  1873. 


vi 


PREFACE. 


longer  doubtful,  and  others,  as  archaic  in  form  as  any,  are  found 
belonging  to  reigning  families  of  chiefs,  and  still  used  by  them.  Last, 
not  least,  Dr.  Schliemann's  explorations  at  Hissarlik  have  deprived 
the  prehistoric  advocates  of  one  of  their  most  plausible  arguments. 
At  a  depth  of  8^  metres  fro.a  the  surface  he  found  the  remains  of  a 
walled  city,  with  paved  streets,  and  rich  in  gold,  silver,  and  copper, 
with  their  alloys  electron  and  bronze,  and  every  sign  of  a  high  civil- 
ization. Above  this,  through  four  or  five  metres  of  successive  de- 
posits, indicating  probably  a  duration  of  twice  as  many  centuries,  no 
trace  of  metal  was  found,  but,  as  he  expresses,  an  "ungeheure 
menge,"  and,  in  another  place,  a  "kolossale  menge,"  an  unlimited 
number  of  rude  stone  implements  of  every  sort.  Above  this  again 
the  remains  of  the  Greek  city  of  Ilium  Novum. 

If  this  were  the  case  in  Asia  Minor  in  historic  times,  it  is  in  vain 
to  argue  that,  when  the  imported  civilization  of  the  Romans  passed 
away,  the  Britons  may  not  have  returned  to  their  old  faith  and  old 
practices,  and  adhered  to  them  till  a  new  conquest  and  a  new  faith 
led  to  their  being  finally  abandoned.  It  may,  or  it  may  not,  have 
been  so,  but  till  some  better  argument  than  has  yet  been  brought 
forward  is  adduced  to  prove  that  it  was  not  so,  the  d  pno?'i  argument 
of  improbability  will  not  now  avail  much.  Whenever  the  facts,  as 
stated  in  the  "  Rude  Stone  Monuments,"  are  admitted,  or  any  better 
set  of  conclusions  substituted  for  them,  their  history  may  be  added  as 
a  fifth  volume  to  this  work.  Till  then,  people  must  be  content  with 
the  hazy  nihilism  of  the  prehistoric  myth. 


FROM  THE 


PKEFACB  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITIOIST. 


A LTHOUGH  the  present  work  may  in  some  respects  be  considered 
as  only  a  new  edition  of  the  "Handbook  of  Architecture,"  still 
the  alterations,  both  in  substance  and  in  form,  have  been  so  extensive 
as  to  render  the  adoption  of  a  new  title  almost  indispensable.  The 
topographical  arrangement  which  was  the  basis  of  the  "  Handboook  " 
has  been  abandoned,  and  a  historical  sequence  introduced  in  its  place. 
This  has  entirely  altered  the  argument  of  the  book,  and,  with  the 
changes  and  additions  which  it  has  involved,  has  rendered  it  practi- 
cally a  new  work ;  containing,  it  is  true,  all  that  was  included  in  the 
previous  publication,  but  with  a  great  deal  that  is  new  and  little  that 
retains  its  original  form. 

The  logical  reasons  for  these  changes  will  be  set  forth  in  their 
proper  place  in  the  body  of  the  work ;  but  meanwhile,  as  the  Preface 
is  that  part  of  it  which  should  properly  include  all  personal  explana- 
tions, I  trust  I  may  not  be  considered  as  laying  myself  open  to  a 
charge  of  egotism,  if  I  avail  myself  of  this  conventional  license  in 
explaining  the  steps,  by  which  this  work  attained  its  present  form. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  able  to  devote  many  years  of  my  life 
to  the  study  of  Architecture — as  a  fine  art  —  under  singularly  favor- 
able circumstances :  not  only  was  I  able  to  extend  my  personal  obser- 
vations to  the  examples  found  in  almost  all  the  countries  between 
China  and  the  Atlantic  shore,  but  I  lived  familiarly  among  a  people 
who  were  still  practising  their  traditional  art  on  the  same  principles 
as  those  which  guided  the  architects  of  the  Middle  Ages  in  the  pro- 
duction of  similar  but  scarcely  more  beautiful  or  more  original  works. 
With  these  antecedents,  I  found  myself  in  possession  of  a  considera- 
ble amount  of  information  regarding  buildings  which  had  not  previ- 
ously been  described,  and  —  what  I  considered  of  more  value  —  of 
an  insight  into  the  theory  of  the  art,  which  was  certainly  even  more 
novel. 

Believing  this  knowledge  and  these  principles  to  be  of  sufficient 
importance  to  justify  me  in  so  doing,  I  resolved  on  publishing  a  work 

vii 


viii  PREFACE. 

in  which  they  should  be  embodied ;  and,  in  furtherance  of  this  idea, 
sixteen  years  ago  I  wrote  a  book  entitled  "  The  True  Principles  of 
Beauty  in  Art."  The  work  was  not  —  nor  was  it  intended  to  be  — 
popular  in  its  form.  It  was  an  attempt  of  a  young  author  to  do  what 
he  thought  right  and  best,  without  consulting  the  wishes  of  the  public 
on  the  subject,  and  the  first  result,  as  might  have  been  —  and  indeed 
was  —  anticipated,  was  that  no  publisher  would  undertake  it.  In 
consequence  of  this,  only  the  first  volume  was  published,  by  Long- 
mans in  1849,  and  that  at  my  own  expense  and  risk.  The  event 
proved  that  the  booksellers  were  right.  The  book  did  not  sell,  and  it 
became  a  question  whether  it  was  worth  my  while  to  waste  my  time 
and  spend  my  money  on  a  work  which  the  public  did  not  want,  or 
whether  it  would  not  be  wiser  to  abandon  it,  and  wait  for  some  more 
favorable  opportunity.  Various  circumstances  of  no  public  interest 
induced  me  at  the  time  to  adopt  the  latter  course,  and  I  felt  I  could 
do  so  without  any  breach  of  faith,  as  the  work,  as  then  published,  was 
complete  in  itself,  though  it  had  been  intended  to  add  two  more  vol- 
umes to  the  one  already  published. 

Some  years  afterwards,  a  proposal  was  made  to  me  by  Mr.  Murray 
to  utilize  the  materials  collected  for  the  more  ambitious  work  in  the 
more  popular  form  of  a  Handbook  of  Architecture.  The  work  was 
written  in  a  very  much  more  popular  manner  than  that  I  had  previ- 
ously adopted,  or  than  I  then  liked,  or  now  think  worthy  of  the  sub- 
ject ;  but  the  result  proved  that  it  was  a  style  much  better  suited  to 
the  public  demand,  for  this  time  the  work  was  successful.  Since  its 
publication  in  1855  a  large  number  of  copies  have  been  sold;  the 
work  has  now  for  some  years  been  out  of  print,  and  a  new  edition  is 
demanded.  Under  these  circumstances  the  question  arose,  whether 
it  would  be  better  to  republish  the  Handbook  in  its  original  form, 
with  such  additions  and  emendations  as  its  arrangement  admitted  of, 
or  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  revert  to  a  form  nearly  ap- 
proaching that  adopted  in  the  "  True  Principles,"  rather  than  that 
followed  in  the  composition  of  the  Handbook,  as  one  more  worthy  of 
the  subject,  and  better  capable  of  developing  its  importance. 

The  immense  advantages  of  the  historical  over  the  topographical 
method  are  too  self-evident  to  require  being  pointed  out,  whenevei 
the  object  is  to  give  a  general  view  of  the  whole  of  such  a  subject  as 
that  treated  of  in  these  volumes,  or  an  attempt  is  made  to  trace  the 
connection  of  the  various  parts  to  one  another.  If  the  intention  is 
only  to  describe  particular  styles  or  separate  buildings,  the  topo- 
graphical arrangement  may  be  found  more  convenient ;  but  where 


PREFACE. 


ix 


anything  beyond  tliis  is  attempted,  the  historical  method  is  the  only 
one  which  enables  it  to  be  done.  Believing  that  the  architectural 
public  do  now  desire  something  more  than  mere  dry  information  with 
regard  to  the  age  and  shape  of  buildings,  it  has  been  determined  to 
remodel  the  work  and  to  adopt  the  historical  arrangement. 

In  the  present  instance  there  does  not  seem  to  be  the  usual 
objection  to  such  a  rearrangement  —  that  it  would  break  the  thread 
of  continuity  between  the  old  and  the  new  publication  —  inasmuch  as, 
whichever  method  were  adopted,  the  present  work  must  practically  be 
a  new  book.  The  mass  of  information  obtained  during  the  last  ten 
years  has  been  so  great  that  even  in  the  present  volume  a  considerable 
portion  of  it  had  to  be  rewritten,  and  a  great  deal  added.  In  the 
second  volume  the  alterations  will  be  even  more  extensive.  The 
publication  of  the  great  national  work  on  Spanish  antiquities,^  of 
Parcerisa's  "  Beauties,  etc.,  of  Spain,"  ^  and,  above  all,  Mr.  Street's 
work,3  have  rendered  Spanish  architecture  as  intelligible  as  that  of 
any  other  country,  though  ten  years  ago  it  was  a  mystery  and  a 
puzzle.  Schulz's'*  work  has  rendered  the  same  service  for  Southern 
Italy,  while  the  publications  of  De  Vogiie^  and  Texier^  w^ill  necessi- 
tate an  entirely  new  treatment  of  the  early  history  of  Byzantine  art. 
The  French  have  been  busily  occupied  during  the  last  ten  years  in 
editing  their  national  monuments,  so  have  the  Germans.  So  that  in 
Europe  little  of  importance  remains  to  be  described.  In  Asia,  too, 
great  progress  has  been  made.  Photography  has  rendered  us  familiar 
with  many  buildings  we  only  knew  before  by  description,  and  both 
the  Hindu  and  Maliomedan  remains  of  India  are  now  generally 
accessible  to  the  public.  Colonel  Yule's  work  on  Burmah  and  M. 
Mouhot's^  on  Siam  have  made  us  acquainted  with  the  form  of  the 
buildings  of  those  countries,  and  China  too  has  been  opened  to  the 
architectural  student.  When  the  Handbook  was  written  there  were 
many  places  and  buildings  regarding  which  no  authentic  information 
Avas  available.  That  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  the  case  now  as  respects 
any  really  important  building,  and  the  time,  therefore,  seems  to  have 


1  Monumentos  Arquitectonicos  de 
Espana."  Folio.   Madrid,  1860,  segg. 

2  Parcerisa,  "  Recuerdos  y  Bellezas 
de  Espana."  Folio.  Madrid.  In  course 
of  publication.    10  vols,  published. 

^  "Gothic  Architecture  in  Spain," 
by  G.  E.  Street.    Murray.  1865. 

*  "  Denkmaler  der  Kunst  des  Mittel- 
alters  in  Unter  Italien,"  by  H.  W. 
Schulz.  Dresden,  1860.  Quarto.  Atlas, 
folio. 


5  "  Syrie  Centrale,"  by  Count  M.  De 
Yogiie.  Paris.  In  course  of  publica- 
tion. 

^  "  Byzantine  Architecture,"  byChev. 
Texier.    London,  1864. 

'  "  Mission  to  the  Court  of  Ava  in 
1855,"  by  Colonel  Yule.  4to.  London, 
1858. 

^  "Travels  in  Siam  and  Cambodia," 
by  Henri  Mouhot.  London :  John  Mur- 
ray. 1864. 


PREFACE. 


arrived  when  their  affiliation  can  be  pointed  out,  if  it  ever  can  be,  and 
the  study  of  architecture  may  be  raised  from  dry  details  of  measure- 
ments to  the  dignity  of  a  historical  science. 

In  the  present  work  it  is  intended  that  the  first  two  volumes  shall 
cover  the  same  extent  of  ground  as  was  comprised  in  the  two  volumes 
of  the  "  Handbook,"  as  originally  published,  with  such  enlargement  as 
is  requisite  to  incorporate  all  recent  additions  to  our  knowledge ;  and 
chapters  will  be  added  on  Celtic — or,  as  they  are  vulgarly  called, 
Druidical  —  remains  omitted  in  the  "  Handbook."  The  "History  of 
Modern  Architecture  "  will  thus  form  the  third  volume  of  the  work ; 
and  when  —  if  ever  —  it  comes  to  be  reprinted,  it  is  intended  to  add 
a  Glossary  of  architectural  terms,  and  other  matters  necessary  to  com- 
plete the  book.  When  all  this  is  done,  the  w^ork  will  be  increased 
from  1500  pages,  which  is  the  number  comprised  in  the  three  volumes 
as  at  present  published,  to  more  than  2000  pages,  and  the  illustrations 
wall  be  augmented  in  at  least  an  equal  ratio.  ^  Notwithstanding  all 
this,  it  is  too  evident  that  even  then  the  work  can  only  be  considered 
as  an  introduction  to  the  subject,  and  it  would  require  a  work  at  least 
ten  times  as  large  to  do  full  justice  even  to  our  present  knowledge  of 
the  history  of  architecture.  Any  one  at  all  familiar  with  the  litera- 
ture of  the  subject  can  see  at  once  why  this  is  so.  Viollet  le  Due,  for 
instance,  is  now  publishing  a  dictionary  of  French  architecture  from 
the  eleventh  to  the  sixteenth  century.  The  work  will  consist,  when 
complete,  of  ten  volumes,  and  probably  5000  illustrations.  Yet  even 
this  will  by  no  means  exhaust  the  history  of  the  style  in  one  country 
of  Europe  during  the  five  centuries  indicated.  It  would  require  at 
least  as  many  volumes  to  illustrate,  even  imperfectly,  the  architectural 
history  of  England  during  the  same  period.  Germany  would  fill  an 
equal  number;  and  the  mediaeval  architecture  of  Italy  and  Spain 
could  not  be  described  in  less  space. 

In  other  words,  fifty  volumes  and  20,000  woodcuts  would  barely 
suffice  to  complete  what  must  in  the  present  work  be  compressed  into 
500  pages,  with  a  like  number  of  illustrations. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  will  be  easily  understood  that  this 
book  is  far  from  pretending  to  be  a  complete  or  exhaustive  history  of 
the  art.  It  is  neither  an  atlas  nor  a  gazetteer,  but  simply  a  general 
map  of  the  architectural  world,  and,  —  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  small 
joke  —  onMercator's  projection.  It  might  with  propriety  be  called  an 


1  The  number  of  illustrations  in  the 
chapters  of  the  Handbook  comprised  in 
this  first  volume  of  the  History  was  441. 


They  now  stand  at  536  ;  and  in  the 
second  volume  the  ratio  of  increase  will 
probably  be  even  greater. 


PREFACE. 


XI 


abridgment,  if  there  existed  any  larger  history  from  which  it  could 
be  supposed  to  be  abridged.  At  one  time  I  intended  to  designate  it 
"An  historical  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Architecture,  considered  as 
a  Fine  Art ;  "  but  though  such  a  title  might  describe  correctly  enough 
the  general  scope  of  the  work,  its  length  is  objectionable,  and,  like 
every  periphrasis,  it  is  liable  to  misconstruction. 

The  simple  title  of  "History"  has  therefore  been  adopted,  under 
the  impression  that  it  is  entitled  to  such  a  denomination  until  at  least 
some  narrative  more  worthy  of  the  subject  takes  its  place.  Con- 
sidering the  limits  it  thus  became  necessary  to  impose  on  the  extent 
of  the  work,  it  must  be  obvious  that  the  great  difficulty  of  its  com- 
position was  in  the  first  place  to  compress  so  vast  a  subject  into  so 
small  a  compass ;  and  next  to  determine  what  buildings  to  select  for 
illustration,  and  what  to  reject.  It  would  have  been  infinitely  easier 
to  explain  what  was  necessary  to  be  said,  had  the  number  of  woodcuts 
been  doubled.  Had  the  text  been  increased  in  the  same  ratio  a  great 
many  things  might  have  been  made  clear  to  all,  which  will  now,  I 
fear,  demand  a  certain  amount  of  previous  knowledge  on  the  part  of 
my  readers.  To  have  done  this,  however,  would  have  defeated  some 
of  the  great  objects  of  the  present  publication,  which  is  intendecl  to 
convey  a  general  view  of  the  history  and  philosophy  of  the  subject, 
without  extending  the  work  so  as  to  make  it  inconveniently  large,  or 
increasing  the  price  so  as  to  render  it  inaccessible  to  a  large  number 
of  readers.  The  principle  consequently  that  has  been  adopted  in  the 
selection  of  the  illustrations  is,  first,  that  none  of  the  really  important 
typical  specimens  of  the  art  shall  be  passed  over  without  some  such 
illustrations  as  shall  render  them  intelligible ;  and,  after  this,  those 
examples  are  chosen  which  are  remarkable  either  for  their  own 
intrinsic  merit,  or  for  their  direct  bearing  in  elucidation  of  the 
progress  or  affinities  of  the  style  under  discussion ;  all  others  being 
sternly  rejected  as  irrelevant,  notwithstanding  the  almost  irresistible 
temptation  at  times  to  adorn  my  pages  with  fascinating  illustrations. 
The  reader  who  desires  information  not  bearing  on  the  general  thread 
of  the  narrative  must  thus  have  recourse  to  monographs,  or  other  special 
works,  which  alone  can  supply  his  wants  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 

It  may  tend  to  explain  some  things  which  appear  open  to  remark 
in  the  following  pages,  if  I  allude  here  to  a  difference  of  opinion 
which  has  frequently  been  pointed  out  as  existing  between  the  views 
I  have  expressed  and  those  generally  received  regarding  several  points 
of  ancient  history  or  ethnology.    I  always  have  been  aware  that  this 


xii 


PREFACE. 


discrepancy  exists ;  but  it  has  appeared  to  me  an  almost  inevitable 
consequence  of  the  different  modes  of  investigation  pursued.  Almost 
all  those  who  have  hitherto  written  on  these  subjects  have  derived 
their  information  from  Greek  and  Roman  written  texts ;  but,  if  I  am 
not  very  much  mistaken,  these  do  not  suffice.  The  classic  authors 
were  very  imperfectly  informed  as  to  the  history  of  the  nations  who 
preceded  or  surrounded  them  ;  they  knew  very  little  of  the  archaeology 
of  their  own  countries,  and  less  of  their  ethnography.  So  long,  there- 
fore, as  our  researches  are  confined  to  what  they  had  written,  many 
important  problems  remain  unsolved,  and  must  ever  remain  as  unsolv- 
able  as  they  have  hitherto  proved. 

My  conviction  is,  that  the  lithic  mode  of  investigation  is  not  only 
capable  of  supplementing  to  a  very  great  extent  the  deficiencies  of 
the  graphic  method,  and  of  yielding  new  and  useful  results,  but 
that  the  information  obtained  by  its  means  is  much  more  trust- 
worthy than  anytliing  that  can  be  elaborated  from  the  books  of  that 
early  age.  It  does  not  therefore  terrify  me  in  the  least  to  be  told  that 
such  men  as  Niebuhr,  Cornewall  Lewis,  or  Grote,  have  arrived  at 
conclusions  different  from  those  I  have  ventured  to  express  in  the 
following  pages.  Their  information  is  derived  wholly  from  what  is 
written,  and  it  does  not  seem  ever  to  have  occurred  to  them,  or  to  any 
of  our  best  scholars,  that  there  was  either  history  or  ethnography 
ljuilt  into  the  architectural  remains  of  antiquity. 

While  they  were  looking  steadily  at  one  side  of  the  shield,  I  fancy 
I  have  caught  a  glim])se  of  the  other. 

It  has  been  the  accident  of  my  life  —  I  do  not  claim  it  as  a  merit — 
that  I  have  wandered  all  over  the  Old  World.  I  have  seen  much  that 
they  never  saw,  and  I  have  had  access  to  sources  of  information  of 
which  they  do  not  suspect  the  existence.  While  they  were  trying  to 
reconcile  what  the  Greek  or  Eoman  authors  said  about  nations  who 
never  wrote  books,  and  with  regard  to  whom  they  consequently  had 
little  information,  I  was  trying  to  read  tlie  history  which  these  very 
people  had  recorded  in  stone,  in  characters  as  clear  and  far  more  in- 
delible than  those  written  in  ink.  If,  consequently,  we  arrived  at 
different  conclusions,  it  may  possibly  be  owing  more  to  the  sources 
from  which  the  information  is  derived  than  to  any  difference  between 
the  individuals  who  announce  it. 

Since  the  invention  of  printing  I  am  quite  prepared  to  admit  that 
the  "  litera  scripta "  may  suffice.  In  an  age  like  the  present,  when 
nine-tenths  of  the  population  can  read  and  every  man  who  has  any- 
thing to  say  rushes  into  print,  or  makes  a  speech  which  is  printed  next 


PREFACE. 


xiii 


morning,  every  feeling  and  every  information  regarding  a  people  may 
be  dug  out  of  its  books.  But  it  certainly  was  not  so  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
nor  in  the  early  ages  of  Greek  or  Roman  history.  Still  less  was  this 
so  in  Egypt,  nor  is  it  the  case  in  India,  or  in  many  other  countries  ;  and 
to  apply  our  English  nineteenth  century  experience  to  all  these  seems  to 
me  to  be  a  mistake.  In  those  countries  and  times,  men  who  had  a  hanker- 
ing after  immortality  were  forced  to  build  their  aspirations  into  the 
walls  of  their  tombs  or  of  their  temples.  Those  who  had  poetry  in  their 
souls,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  expressed  it  by  the  more  familiar  vehicle 
of  sculpture  or  painting  rather  than  in  writing.  To  me  it  appears 
that  to  neglect  these  in  trying  to  understand  the  manners  and  customs, 
or  the  history  of  an  ancient  people,  is  to  throw  away  one-half,  and 
generally  the  most  valuable  half,  in  some  cases  the  whole,  of  the 
evidence  bearing  on  the  subject.  So  long  as  learned  men  persist  in 
believing  that  all  that  can  be  known  of  the  ancient  world  is  to  be 
found  in  their  books,  and  resolutely  ignore  the  evidence  of  archi- 
tecture and  of  art,  we  have  little  in  common.  I  consequently  feel 
neither  abashed  nor  ashamed  at  being  told  that  men  of  the  most 
extensive  book-learning  have  arrived  at  different  conclusions  from 
myself  —  on  the  contrary,  if  it  should  happen  that  we  agreed  in  some 
point  to  which  their  contemporary  works  did  not  extend,  I  should 
rather  be  inclined  to  suspect  some  mistake,  and  hesitate  to  put  it  down. 

There  is  one  other  point  in  which  I  fancy  misconception  exists,  of 
a  nature  that  may  probably  be  more  easily  removed  by  personal  expla- 
nation than  by  any  other  means.  It  is  very  generally  objected  to  my 
writings  that  I  neither  understand  nor  appreciate  the  beauties  of 
Gothic  architecture,  and  consequently  criticize  it  with  undue  severity. 
I  regret  that  such  a  feeling  should  prevail,  partly  because  it  is 
prejudicial  to  the  dissemination  of  the  views  I  am  anxious  to  promul- 
gate, but  more  because  at  a  time  when  in  this  country  the  admiration 
of  Gothic  art  is  so  nearly  universal,  it  alienates  from  me  the  best  class 
of  men  who  love  the  art,  and  prevents  their  co-operating  with  me  in 
the  improvement  of  our  architecture,  which  is  the  great  object  which 
we  all  have  at  heart. 

If  I  cannot  now  speak  of  Gothic  architecture  with  the  same  enthu- 
siasm as  others,  this  certainly  was  not  the  case  in  the  early  part  of  my 
career  as  a  student  of  art.  Long  after  I  turned  my  attention  to  the 
subject,  I  knew  and  believed  in  none  but  the  mediaeval  styles,  and  was 
as  much  astonished  as  the  most  devoted  admirer  of  Gothic  architecture 
could  be,  when  any  one  suggested  that  any  other  forms  could  be 
compared  with  it.    If  I  did  not  learn  to  understand  it  then,  it  was 


xiv 


PREFACE. 


not  for  want  of  earnest  attention  and  study.  I  got  so  far  into  its 
spirit  that  I  thought  I  saw  then  how  better  things  could  be  done  in 
Gothic  art  than  had  been  done  either  in  the  Middle  Ages  or  since ;  and 
I  think  so  now.  But  if  it  is  to  be  done,  it  must  be  by  free  thought, 
not  by  servile  copying. 

My  faith  in  the  exclusive  pre-eminence  of  mediaeval  art  was  first 
shaken  when  I  became  familiar  with  the  splendid  remains  of  the  Mogul 
and  Pathan  emperors  of  Agra  and  Delhi,  and  saw  how  many  beauties 
of  even  the  pointed  style  had  been  missed  in  Europe  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  My  confidence  was  still  further  weakened  when  I  saw  what 
richness  and  variety  the  Hindu  had  elaborated  not  only  without 
pointed  arches,  but  indeed  without  any  arches  at  all.  And  I  was 
cured  when,  after  a  personal  inspection  of  the  ruins  of  Thebes  and 
Athens,  I  perceived  that  at  least  equal  beauty  could  be  obtained  by 
processes  diametrically  opposed  to  those  employed  by  the  mediaeval 
architects. 

After  so  extended  a  survey,  it  was  easy  to  perceive  that  beauty  in 
architecture  did  not  reside  in  pointed  or  in  round  arches,  in  bracket 
capitals  or  horizontal  architraves,  but  in  thoughtful  appropriateness 
of  design  and  intellectual  elegance  of  detail.  I  became  convinced  that 
no  form  is  in  itself  better  than  any  other,  and  that  in  all  instances 
those  are  best  which  are  most  appropiiate  to  the  purposes  to  which 
they  are  applied. 

So  self-evident  do  these  principles  —  which  are  the  basis  of  the 
reasoning  employed  in  this  book  —  appear  to  me,  that  I  feel  convinced 
that  there  are  very  few  indeed  even  of  the  most  exclusive  admirers  of 
mediaeval  art  who  would  not  admit  them,  if  they  had  gone  through 
the  same  course  of  education  as  has  fallen  to  my  lot.  My  own  con- 
viction is,  that  the  great  difference  which  seems  to  exist  between  my 
views  and  those  of  the  parties  opposed  to  them  arises  almost  entirely 
from  this  accident  of  education. 

In  addition  to  this,  however,  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that 
for  three  centuries  all  the  architects  in  Europe  concurred  in  believing 
that  the  whole  of  their  art  began  and  ended  in  copying  classical  forms 
and  details.  When  a  reaction  came,  it  was  not,  unfortunately,  in  the 
direction  of  freedom ;  but  towards  a  more  servile  imitation  of  another 
style,  which  —  whether  better  or  worse  in  itself — was  not  a  style  of 
our  age,  nor  suited  to  our  wants  or  feelings. 

It  is  perhaps  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  after  three  centuries  of 
perseverance  in  one  particular  groove,  men  should  have  ceased  to  have 
any  faith  in  the  possibility  of  reason  or  originality  being  employed  in 


PREFAjUE. 


XV 


architectural  design.  As,  however,  [  can  adduce  in  favor  of  my 
views  3000  years  of  perfect  success  in  all  countries  and  under  all 
circumstances,  against  300  years  of  absolute  failure  in  consequence 
of  the  copying  system,  though  under  circumstances  the  most  favor- 
able to  success  in  other  respects,  there  seems  at  least  an  a  2)riori 
probability  that  I  may  be  right  and  that  tlie  copyist  may  be 
mistaken. 

I  may  be  deceiving  myself,  but  I  cannot  help  fancying  that  I  per- 
ceive signs  of  a  reaction.  Some  men  are  becoming  aware  of  the  fact 
that  "  archaeology  is  not  architecture,"  and  would  willingly  see  some- 
thing done  more  reasonable  than  an  attempt  to  reproduce  the  Middle 
Ages.  The  misfortune  is,  that  their  enlightenment  is  more  apt  to  lead 
to  despondency  than  to  hope.  "  If,"  they  ask,  "  we  cannot  find  what 
we  are  looking  for  in  our  own  national  style,  where  are  we  to  look 
for  it  ?  "  The  obvious  answer,  that  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  exercise 
of  common  sense,  where  all  the  rest  of  the  world  have  found  it,  seems 
to  them  beside  the  mark.  Architecture  with  most  people  is  a  mystery 
—  something  different  from  all  other  arts  ;  and  they  do  not  see  that  it 
is  and  must  be  subject  to  the  same  rules  as  they  all  are,  and  must  be 
practised  in  the  same  manner,  if  it  is  to  be  successful. 

Whether  the  nation  will  or  will  not  soon  awaken  to  the  impor- 
tance of  this  prosaic  anti-climax,  one  thing  at  least  seems  certain 
and  most  hopeful.  Men  are  not  satisfied  with  what  is  doing ;  a  rest- 
less, inquiring  spirit  is  abroad,  and  if  people  can  only  be  induced  to 
think  seriously  about  it,  I  feel  convinced  that  they  will  be  as  much 
astonished  at  their  present  admiration  of  Gothic  town-halls  and 
Hyde  Park  Albert  Memorials,  as  we  are  now  at  the  Gothic  fancies 
of  Horace  Walpole  and  the  men  of  his  day. 


NOTE. 


Although  eveiy  possible  care  has  been  taken  in  selecting  the  best  authorities  for  the 
statements  in  the  text  of  the  work,  as  well  as  the  subjects  for  illustration,  still  no  one 
acquainted  with  the  state  of  the  literature  of  architectui-e  will  need  to  be  told  that  in  many 
branches  few  materials  exist  for  a  correct  description  of  the  style,  and  that  the  drawings 
which  are  available  are  frequently  so  inexact  and  with  scales  so  carelessly  applied,  that 
it  is  impossible  at  times  to  avoid  error.  The  plans  throughout  the  book  are  on  too  small 
a  scale  to  render  any  minute  errors  apparent,  but  being  drawn  to  a  uniform  scale  of  100 
feet  to  1  inch,  or  one  twelve-hundredth  of  the  real  size,  they  are  quite  sufficient  as  a 
m.eans  of  comparison,  even  when  not  mathematically  correct.  They  suffice  to  enable  the 
reader  to  judge  of  the  relative  size  of  two  buildings  by  a  mere  inspection  of  the  plans,  as 
correctly  as  he  could  by  seeing  the  buildings  themselves,  without  actually  measuring  them 
in  all  their  details. 

As  a  general  rule,  the  sections  or  elevations  of  buildings,  throughout  the  book,  are 
drawn  to  a  scale  double  that  of  the  plans,  viz.,  50  feet  to  1  inch,  or  one  six-hundredth  of 
the  real  dimensions;  !)ut,  owing  to  the  great  size  of  man}-  of  them,  it  has  been  found  im- 
possible to  carry  out  this  in  all  instances  :  where  it  has  not  been  elTected  the  departure  from 
the  rule  is  always  noted,  cither  below  the  woodcut  or  in  the  text. 

No  lineal  dimensions  are  quoted  in  the  text  except  such  as  it  is  believed  can  be  rehed 
upon,  and  in  all  instances  these  are  reduced  to  English  feet.  The  superficial  measures 
also  in  the  text,  like  the  plans,  are  quite  sufficient  for  comparison,  thougli  not  to  be  relied 
upon  as  absolutely  correct.  One  great  source  of  uncertainty  as  regards  them  is  the  diffi- 
culty of  knowing  at  times  what  should  be  included  in  the  building  referred  to.  Should, 
for  instance,  the  Lady  Chapel  at  Ely  be  considered  an  integral  part  of  the  Cathedral,  or 
the  Chapel-house  at  Wells  ?  Should  the  sacristies  attached  to  Continental  cathedrals  be 
considered  as  part  of  the  church  ?  or  such  semi-detached  towers  as  the  south-western  one 
at  Bourges  ?  What  constitutes  the  temple  at  Karnac,  and  how  much  of  this  belongs 
to  the  Hypostyle  Hall  ?  These  and  fifty  other  questions  occur  in  almost  every  instance 
which  may  lead  two  persons  to  very  different  conclusions  regarding  the  superficial  dimen- 
sions of  a  building,  even  without  the  errors  inherent  in  imperfect  materials. 

When  either  the  drawino"  from  which  the  woodcut  is  taken  was  without  a  scale,  or  the 
scale  given  could  not  be  depended  upon,  "  No  scale  "  has  been  put  under  the  woodcut,  to 
warn  the  reader  of  the  fact.  When  the  woodcut  was  either  too  large  for  the  page  or  too 
small  to  be  distinct  if  reduced  to  the  usual  scale,  a  scale  of  feet  has  been  added  under  it, 
to  show  that  it  is  an  exception  to  the  ride. 

Capitals,  windows,  and  details  which  are  meant  to  illustrate  forms  or  construction,  and 
not  particular  buildings,  are  drawn  to  any  scale  that  seemed  best  to  express  the  purpose 
for  which  they  are  inserted ;  but  when  they  are  remarkable  for  size,  or  as  individual  ex- 
amples, a  scale  has  been  added ;  but  this  is  the  exception,  not  the  rule. 

Every  pains  has  been  taken  to  secure  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  accuracy,  and 
in  all  instances  the  sources  from  which  the  woodcuts  have  been  taken  are  indicated. 
Many  of  the  illustrations  are  from  original  drawings,  and  of  buildings  never  before 
published. 

xvi 


CONTENTS  OP  VOL.  L 


INTRODUCTION. 

Page 

Part  I.  —  Section  I.  Intkoductory.  —  II.  Beauty  in  Art.  —  III. 
Definition  of  Architecture. — IV.  Mass.  —  V.  Stability.  — 
VI.  Durability.  —  VII.  Materials.  —  VIII.  Construction.  — 
IX.  FoRxMS.  —  X.  Proportion. — XI.  Carved  Ornament. — 
XII.  Decorative  Color.  —  XIII.  Sculpture  and  Painting.  — 
XIV.  Uniformity.  —  XV.  Imitation  of  Nature.  —XVI.  Asso- 
ciation. —  XVII.  New  Style.  —  XVIII.  Prospects   ....  3 

PART  II.  — ETHNOGRAPHY   AS   APPLIED    TO  ARCHI- 
TECTURAL ART. 

I.  Introductory  

II.  Turanian  Races  —  Religion,   Government,  Morals,  Literature, 

Arts,  and  Sciences  55 

III.  Semitic  Races  —  Religion,  Government,  Morals,  Literature,  Arts,  65 

and  Sciences  64 

IV.  Celtic  Races  —  Religion,  Government,  Morals,  Literature,  Arts, 

and  Sciences   70 

V.  Aryan  Races  —  Religion,  Government,  Morals,  Literature,  Arts, 

and  Sciences   74 

VI.  Conclusion   83 


PART  I.— ANCIENT  ARCHITECTURE. 

Introductory  85 

Outline  of  Egyptian  Chronology  88 

BOOK  L  — EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 

Chap.  Page 

I.  Introductory  89 

II.  The    Pyramids   and    Contemporary    Monuments  —  Tombs  —  95 
Temples  95 

b  xvii 


xviii 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  I. 


Chap.  Page 
III.  First  Theban  Kingdom  — The  Labyrinth  — Tombs  — Shepherds  .  107 
VI.  Pharaonic  Kingdom  —  Thebes  —  Rock-cut  Tombs  and  Temples  — 

Mammeisi  —  Tombs  —  Obelisks  —  Domestic  Architecture    .  .114 

V.  Greek  and  Roman  Period  —  Decline  of  art  —  Temples  at  Dendera  — 

Kalabsche  —  Philse  I33 

VI.  Ethiopia  —  Kingdom  of  Meroe  —  Pyramids  140 

BOOK  II.  — ASSYRIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 

I.  Introductor\   c  ...  144 

11,  Chaldean  Temples  150 

III.  Assyrian  Palaces  —  Wurka  —  Nineveh  —  Nimroud  —  Khorsabad  — 

Palace  of  Sennacherib,  Koyunjik  —  Palace  of  Esarhaddon  — 

Temples  and  Tombs   160 

IV.  Persia  —  Persepolis  —  Susa  Passargadte  —  Fire  Temples  —  Tombs  .  188 
V.  Invention  of  the  Arch   204 

VI.  JuDEA — Temple  of  Jerusalem   209 


VII.  Asia  Minor  — Historical  notice  —  Tombs  at  Smyrna  —  Doganlu  — 

Lycian  Tombs  220 


BOOK  III.  — GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 

I.  Greece  —  Historical  notice  —  Pelasgic  art  —  Tomb  of  Atreus  —  Other 

remains   231 

II.  Hellenic  Greece  —  History  of  the  Orders  —  Doric  temples  in 
Greece  —  Doric  temples  in  Sicily  —  Ionic  temples — Corinthian 
temples  —  Dimensions  of  Greek  temples — Doric  order  —  Ionic 
order  —  Corinthian  order  —  Caryatides  —  Forms  of  temples  — 
Mode  of  lighting  temples  —  Temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus  — 
Municipal  architecture  —  Theatres  —  Tombs  —  Cyrene  24i 


BOOK  IV.  — ETRUSCAN,  ROMAN,  AND  SASSANIAN 
ARCHITECTURE. 

I.  Etruria  —  Historical  notice  —  Temples  —  Rock-cut  Tombs  —  Tombs 

at  Castel  d' Asso  —  Tumuli  —  The  arch  279 

II.  Rome  —  Introduction  292 

III.  Roman    Architecture  —  Origin    of    style  —  The    arch  —  Orders  : 

Doric,  Ionic,  Corinthian,  Composite  —  Temples  —  The  Pantheon 

—  Roman  temples  at  Athens  —  at  Baalbec  295 

IV.  Basilicas,  Theatres,  and  Baths  —  Basilicas  of  Trajan  and  Max- 

entius  —  Provincial  basilicas — Theatre  at  Orange  —  Colosseum — 
Provincial  amphitheatres  —  Baths  of  Diocletian  ....  316 
V.  Triumphal  Arches,  Tombs,  and  other  Buildings  —  Arches  at 
Rome;  in  France  —  Arches  at  Treves  —  Pillars  of  Victory  — 
Tombs  —  Minerva  Medica  —  Provincial  tombs  —  Eastern  tombs  — 
Domestic  architecture  —  Spalatro  —  Pompei  i  —  Bridges  —  Aque- 
ducts  335 

VI.  Sassanian  Architecture  —  Historical  notice  —  Palaces  of  Diarbekr 
and  Al  Hadhr  —  Domes  —  Serbistan — Firouzabad  —  Tdk  Kesra — 
Palace  at  Mashita  377 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  I. 


xix 


PART  II.  —  CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 
BOOK  I. 

Ohap.  Paqb 

I.  Introductory  395 

II.  Western  Romanesque  Style  —  Basilicas  at  Rome  —  Basilicas  of  St. 

Peter — St.  Paul's  —  Basilicas  at  Ravenna  —  Torcello  .       .       .  400 

III.  Circular  Romanesque  Churches  —  Circular  Churches  —  Tomb  of 

Sta.  Costanza  —  Churches  at  Perugia,  Nocera,  Ravenna,  Milan  — 
Secular  buildings  429 

BOOK  II.  — FRANCE. 

I.  Division  of  subject  —  Pointed  arches  —  Provence  —  Churches  at 
Avignon,  Aries,  Alet,  Fontifroide,  Maguelone,  Vienne  —  Circular 
churches  —  Towers  —  Cloisters  442 

II.  Aquitania — Churches  at  Perigeux,  Souillac,  Angouleme,  Alby, 

Toulouse,  Conques,  Tours  —  Tombs  466 

III.  Anjou  —  Cathedral  of  Angers  —  Church  at  Fontevrault  —  Poitiers  — 

Spires   .483 

IV.  AuvERGNE  —  Church  at  Issoire  —  Puy  —  Fortified  Church  at  Royat  .  491 
V.  Burgundy  —  Church  at  Ainay  —  Cathedral  at  Puy  —  Abbeys  of 

Toumus  and  Cluny  —  Cathedral  of   Autun — Church  of  St. 

Menoux  496 

VI.  Prankish  Provence  —  Exceptional  buildings  —  Basse  CEuvre,  Beau- 

vais  —  Decoration  506 

VII.  Normandy  —  Triapsal  Churches  —  Churches  at  Caen  —  Intersecting 

vaulting  —  Bayeux  512 

VIII.  Prankish  Architecture  —  Historical  notice  —  The  pointed  arch  — 

Freemasonry  —  Mediaeval  architects  522 

IX.  French  Gothic  Cathedrals— Paris — Chartres —Rheims— Amiens 

—  Other  Cathedrals  —  Later  style  —  St.  Ouen's,  Rouen  .       .  .532 
X.  Gothic    details  —  Pillars  —  Windows  —  Circular   windows  —  Bays  — 
Vaults  —  Buttresses  —  Pinnacles  —  Spires  —  Decoration  —  Con- 
struction—  Furniture  of  churches — Domestic  architecture        .  563 


BOOK  III.  — BELGIUM  AND  HOLLAND. 

I.  Historical  notice  —  Old  churches  —  Cathedral  of  Tournay  —  Antwerp 

—  St.  .Jacques  at  Liege  588 

II.  Civil  architecture  —  Belfries  —  Hall  at  Ypres  —  Louvain  —  Brussels — 

Domestic  architecture  600 

III.  Holland  —  Churches  —  Civil  and  domestic  buildings  ....  607 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTEATIONS. 


NO. 

PAGE 

NO. 

PAGE 

Elevation  of  Facade  of  Cologne  Cathe- 

40. 

Plan  of  Temple  at  Kalabsche  . 

136 

dral,  as  it  will  appear  when  com- 

41. 

Section  of  Temple  at  Kalabsche  .  . 

137 

42. 

View  of  Temple  at  Philae  

138 

Section  of  the  Parthenon,  showing 

43. 

Plan  of  Temple  at  Pliilje  

138 

the  mode  in  which  light  was  ad- 

44. 

Pyramids  at  Meroe  

141 

mitted  ....    Vignette  to  Title-page. 

45. 

Obelisks  at  Axum  

143 

8-34 

46. 

Diagram  of  Elevation  of  Temple  at 

7. 

Section  of  King's  Chamber  and  of 

Mugheyr  

^')2 

Passage  in  Great  Pyramid    .   .  . 

99 

47. 

Plan  of  Temple  at  Mugheyr  .... 

152 

8. 

101 

48. 

Diagram  Elevation  of  Birs  Nimroud 

153 

10. 

Doorway  in  Tomb  at  the  Pyramids  . 

102 

49. 

Diagram  Plan  of  Birs  Nimroud    .  . 

153 

11. 

Sarcophagus  of  Mycerinus  .... 

103 

50. 

Observatory  at  Kliorsabad  .... 

155 

12. 

Sketch  Plan  of  Temple  near  the 

51. 

Plan  of  Observatory,  Kliorsabad  . 

155 

104 

52. 

Tomb  of  C)  rus  

156 

13. 

Block  Plan  of  the  Labyrinth  . 

109 

53. 

Plan  of  Tomb  of  Cyrus,  PassargadaB  . 

157 

14. 

109 

54. 

Section  of  Tomb  of  Cyrus  .... 

157 

16. 

110 

55. 

Representation  of  a  Temple,  Koy- 

16. 

Proto-Doric  Pillar  at  Beni  Hassan  . 

111 

unjik  

159^ 

17. 

Reed  Pillar  from  Beni  Hassan     .  . 

111 

56. 

Elevation  of  a  portion  of  the  external 

18. 

Lotus  Pier,  Beni  Hassan  

111 

Wall  of  Wuswus,  at  Wurka  . 

162 

19. 

116 

57. 

Plan  of  portion  of  Wuswus  .... 

162 

20. 

Central  Pillar,   from  Rhamession, 

58. 

Elevation  of  Wall  at  Wurka 

163 

Thebes  

117 

59. 

Plan  of  North-West  Palace  at  Nim- 

31. 

Section  of  Palace  of  Thotmes  III., 

165 

119 

60. 

Plan  of  Palace  at  Khorsabad   .   .  . 

166 

22. 

Plan  of  Hypostyle  Hall  at  Karnac  . 

120 

61. 

Terrace  Wall  at  Khorsabad  .... 

167 

23. 

Section  of  central  portion  of  Hypo- 

62. 

Plan  of  the  Palace  at  Khorsabad  .  . 

168 

120 

62. 

Existing  remains  of   Propylsea  at 

24. 

Caryatide  Pillar,  from  the  Great 

169 

Court  at  Medinet-Habou  .... 

121 

64. 

Enlarged  Plan  of  the  three  principal 

25. 

South  Temple  of  Karnac  .... 

122 

170 

26. 

122 

65. 

Restored  Section  of  principal  Rooms 

27. 

123 

at  Khorsabad    .  .   

171 

28. 

Plan  and  Section  of  Rock-cut  Temple 

66. 

Restoration  of  Northern  Angle  of 

125 

Palace  Court,  Khorsabad  .... 

172 

29. 

Mammeisi  at  Elephantine  .... 

126 

67. 

City  Gateways,  Khorsabad  .... 

174 

30. 

Plan  and  Section  of  Tomb  of  Manep- 

68. 

City  Gateway  at  Khorsabad     .   .  . 

175 

128 

69. 

Interior  of  a  Yezidi  House  at  Bukra, 

31. 

139 

176 

32. 

Pavilion  at  Medinet-Habou  .... 

131 

70. 

Hall  of  South- West  Palace  .... 

179 

33. 

View  of  Pavilion  at  Medinet-Habou  . 

131 

71. 

Central  Palace,  Koyunjik  .... 

179 

34. 

Elevation  of  an  Egyptian  House  .  . 

131 

72. 

Pavement  Slab  from  the  Central 

35. 

Plan  of  Temple  at  Edfou,  Apollino- 

180 

133 

73. 

Pavilion  from  the  sculptures  at  Nim- 

36. 

View  of  Temple  at  Edfou  .... 

134 

182 

37. 

Bas-relief  at  Tell  el  Amarna    .   .  . 

135 

74. 

Assyrian   Temple  (North  Palace, 

38. 

Facade  of  Temple  at  Dendera  .   .  . 

136 

182 

39. 

Pillar,  from  the  Portico  at  Den- 

75. 

Bas-relief   representing    fa9ade  of 

136 

183 

XX 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  VOL.  I. 


xxi 


NO. 

79. 

77. 

78, 
79. 
80. 
81. 

82. 
83. 

84. 


87. 


99. 

100. 
101. 
102. 
103. 
104. 

105. 


106. 
107. 

108. 

110. 

111. 
112. 

113. 
114. 
115. 
116, 

119. 
130. 

121. 
122. 


PAGE 

Exterior  of  a  Palace,  from  a  Bas- 
relief  at  Koyunjik   183 

King's  Tent  (Koyunjik)   184 

Horse  tent  (Nimroud)   184 

Elevation  of  Stylobate  of  Temple  .  185 
Section  of  Stylobate  of  Temple  .    .  185 
Sacred  Symbolic  Tree  of  the  Assy- 
rians   185 

Obelisk  of  Divanubara   187 

View  from  top  of  Great  Stairs  at 

Persepolis   190 

Stairs  to  Palace  of  Xerxes  ....  161 

Propylaea  (Persepolis)   194 

Palace  of  Darius   193 

Faf  ade  of  Palace  of  Darius  at  Per- 
sepolis  ^194 

Tomb  of  Darius  at  Naksh-i-Rustam, 
representing  the  fa5ade   of  his 
Palace  surmounted  by  a  Talar     .  195 
Palace  of  Xerxes,  Persepolis  ...  196 
Restored  Plan  of  Great  Hall  of  Xer- 
xes at  Persepolis   196 

Pillar  of  Western  Portico   ....  197 

Pillar  of  Northern  Portico  ....  197 

Restored  Section  of  Hall  of  Xerxes  198 
Restored  Elevation  of  Capital  at 

Susa   200 

Plan  of  Platform  at  Passargadse  .  201 
Elevation  of  Platform  at  Passar- 

gadse   201 

Kaabah  at  Istakr   202 

Section  of  Tomb  near  the  Pyramids 

of  Gizeh   205 

Vaulted  Drain  beneath  the  South- 

East  Palace  of  Nimroud  ....  205 

Arch  at  Der  el  Bahri   206 

Arch  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  Rome  .  206 

Arches  in  the  Pyramids  at  Meroe  207 

Diagram  Plan  of  Solomon's  Palace  210 
Diagram  Sections  of  the  House  of 

the  Cedars  of  Lebanon    ....  211 
The  Tabernacle,  showing  one  half 
ground  plan  and  one  half  as  cov- 
ered by  the  curtains   212 

South-East  View  of  the  Tabernacle, 

as  restored  by  the  Author    .    .    .  213 
Plan  of  Solomon's  Temple,  showing 
the  disposition  of  the  chambers  in 

two  stories   215 

View  of  the  Temple,  from  the  East, 
as  it  appeared  at  the  time  of  the 

Crucifixion   216 

Roof  of  one  of  the  Compartments  of 

the  Gate  Huldah  -218 

Elevation  of  Tumulus  at  Tantalais  221 
Plan  and  Section  of  Chamber  in 

Tumulus  at  Tantalais      ....  221 

Section  of  Tomb  of  Alyattes  ...  221 

Rock-cut  Frontispiece  at  Doganlu  .  224 

Lycian  Tomb   225 

117,  118.  Rock-cut  Lycian  Tombs    .  226, 

[227,  228 

Ionic  Lycian  Tomb   228 

Elevation  of  the  Monument  and  Sec- 
tion of  the  Tomb  at  Amrith    .    .  229 
West  A'^iew  of  the  Acropolis  restored  231 
Section  and  Plan  of  Tomb  of  Atreus 
at  Myceuae   234 


NO. 
123. 

124. 
125. 
126. 
127. 
128. 
129. 
130. 
131. 
132. 
133. 
134. 

135. 


136. 
137. 

138. 

139. 

140. 


142. 

144. 
145. 
146. 
147. 
148. 
149. 
150. 
151. 

152. 
153. 
154. 

155. 
156. 

157. 
158, 
159. 

160. 
161. 
162. 

163. 


164. 
165. 


166. 
167. 


168. 
160. 


PAGE 

Fragments  of  Pillar  in  front  of 

Tomb  of  Atreus  at  Mycenae  .    .    .  235- 

Gateway  at  Thoricus   236 

Arch  at  Delos   237 

Wall  in  Peloponnesus   237 

Gateway  at  Assos   238 

Doorway  at  Missolonghi   238 

Gate  of  Lions,  Mycenae   238 

Plan  of  the  Acropolis  at  Athens  .   .  241 

Capital  in  Temple  at  Karnac  .   .   .  242 

Temple  at  ^gina  restored  ....  243 

Ancient  Corinthian  Capital  ...  247 
Diagram  of  Doric  construction,  as 

used  in  the  East   248 

Doric  Columns  of  the  Temple  at 
Delos,  the  Parthenon  at  Athens, 

and  the  Temple  at  Corinth  .    .    .  250 

The  Parthenon   252 

Ionic    oi-der  of   Erechtheium,  at 

Athens  .   *.   254 

Ionic  order  in  Temple  of  Apollo  at 

Bassae   255 

Section  of  half  of  the  Ionic  Capital 

at  Bassae,  taken  through  the  volute  255 
Order  of  the  Choragic  Monument  of 

Lysicrates   256 

Order  of  the  Tower  of  the  Winds, 

Athens   257 

Caryatide  Figure  in   the  British 

Museum   258 

Caryatide  Figure  from  the  Erech- 
theium   258 

Telamones  at  Agrigentum  ....  259 

Small  Temple  at  Rhamnus  ....  260 

Plan  of  Temple  of  Apollo  at  Bassae  260 

Plan  of  Parthenon  at  Athens      .    .  260 

Plan  of  the  Great  Temple  at  Selinus  260 

Plan  of  Great  Temple  at  Agrigentum  261 

Section  of  the  Parthenon  ....  263 
Part  Section,  part  Elevation,  of 

Great  Temple  at  Agrigentum  .    .  263 

Plan  of  Temple  of  Ceres  at  Eleusis  264 

Section  of  Temple  of  Ceres  at  Eleusis  264 
Plan  of  Temple  of  Jupiter  Olympius 

at  Athens   265 

Plan  of  Erechtheium   265 

Elevation  of  West  End  of  Erech- 
theium   265 

View  of  Erechtheium   266 

Restored  Plan  of  Erechtheium  .  .  267 
Plan  of  the  Temple  of  Diana  at 

Ephesus   268 

Choragic  ]Monument  of  Lysicrates  270 

Plan  of  Theatre  at  Dramyssus  .  .  271 
View  of  the  Mausoleum  at  Halicar- 

nassus,  as  restored  by  the  Author  273 
Plan  of  the  Mausoleum  at  Halicar- 
nassus,  from  a  Drawing  by  the 

Author  .273 

Lion  Tomb  at  Cnidus   275 

Rock-cut  and  Structural  Tombs  at 

Cyrene   276 

Tombs  at  Cyrene   277 

Plan  and  Elevation  of  an  Etruscan 

Temple   282 

Tombs  at  Castel  d'Asso   285 

Mouldings  from  Tombs  at  Castel 

d'Asso   285 


xxii 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  VOL.  I. 


NO.  PAGE 


170.  Plan  of  liegulini  GaleassiToinb  .    .  287 

171.  Sections  of  Regulini  Galeassi  Tomb  287 

172.  Section  of  a  Tomb  at  Caere     ...  288 

173.  View  of  principal  Chamber  in  the 

Regulini  Galeassi  Tomb  ....  288 

174.  Plan  of  Cocumella,  Vulci    ....  289 

175.  View  of  Cocumella,  Vulci    ....  280 

176.  Tomb  of  Aruns,  Albano   290 

177.  Gateway  at  Arpino   290 

178.  Aqueduct  at  Tusculum   291 

179.  Doric  Order   298 

186.    Ionic  Order   299 

181.  Corinthian  Order   300 

182.  Composite  Order   302 

183.  Corinthian  Base,  found  in  Church  of 

St.  Praxede  in  Rome   302 

184.  Doric  Arcade   303 

185.  View  in  Court-yard  of  Palace  at 

Spalatro   304 

186.  Temple  of  Mars  Ultor  '   306 

187.  Plan  of  Maison  Carree  at  Nimes  .    .  307 

188.  Plan  of  Temple  of  Diana  at  Nimes  .307 

189.  View  of  the  Interior  of  the  Temple 

of  Diana  at  Nimes   308 

190.  Plan  of  Pantheon  at  Rome  ....  309 

191.  Half  Elevation,  half  Section,  of  the 

Pantheon  at  Rome   310 

192.  Plan  of  Temple  at  Tivoli    ....  311 

193.  Restored  Elevation  of  Temple  at 

Tivoli   311 

194.  Plan  and  Elevation  of  Temple  in 

Diocletian's  Palace  at  Spalatro  .  312 

195.  Ruins  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter 

Olympus  at  Athens   313 

196.  Plan  of  Small  Temple  at  Baalbec  .  314 

197.  Elevation    of    Small   Temple  at 

Baalbec   314 

198.  Plan  of  Trajan's  Basilica  at  Rome  .  317 

199.  Restored  Section  of  Trajan's  Basilica  317 

200.  Plan  of  Basilica  of  Maxentius        .  319 

201.  Longitudinal  Section   of  Basilica 

of  Maxentius   319 

202.  Transverse  Section  of  Basilica  of 

Maxentius   319 

203.  Pillar  of  Maxentian  Basilica  ...  320 

204.  Plan  of  the  Basilica  at  Treves    .   .  321 

205.  External  View  of  the  Basilica  at 

Treves   322 

206.  Internal  View  of  the  Basilica  at 

Treves   322 

207.  Plan  of  Basilica  at  Pompeii    ...  323 


208.  Plan  of  the  Theatre  at  Orailge   .    .  325 

209.  View  of  the  Theatre  at  Orange   .    .  326 

210.  Elevation  and  Section  of  part  of  the 

Flavian  Amphitheatre,  at  Rome  .  227 

211.  Quarter-plan    of    the    Seats  and 

quarter-plan  of  the  Basement  of 


the  Flavian  Amphitheatre  .  .  .  327 
212.   Elevation    of     Amphitheatre  at 

Verona   329 

21.J.    Baths  of  Caracalla,  as  restored  by 

A.  Blouet  •    .    .  333 

214.  Arch  of  Trajan  at  Beneventunx  .   .  335 

215.  Arch  of  Titus  at  Rome   336 

216.  Arch  of  Septimius  Severus     .    .    .  336 

217.  Porte  St.  Andr^  at  Autun  ....  337 

218.  Plan  of  Porta  Nigra  at  Treves    .    .  338 

219.  View  of  the  Porta  Nigra  at  Treves  .  338 


>"0.  PAGE 

220.  Bridge  at  Chamas   339 

221.  Column  at  Cussi   341 

222.  Supposed  Capital  of  Column  at  Cussi  341 

223.  Tomb  of  Cajcilia  Metella    ....  343 

224.  Columbarium  near  the  Gate  of  St. 

Sebastian,  Rome   344 

225.  Section  of  Sepulchre  at  San  Vito   .  345 

226.  Section  and  Elevation  of  Tomb  of 

Sta.  Helena,  Rome   .346 

227.  Plan  of  Minerva  Medica  at  Rome  .  348 

228.  Section  of  Minerva  Medica  ...  348 
226.    Rib  of  Roof  of  Minerva  Medica  .    .  348 

230.  Tomb  at  St.  Remi   349 

231.  Monument  at  Igel,  near  Treves  .    .  350 

232.  Khasn(i,  Petra   352 

233.  •  Section  of  Tomb  at  Khasne    .    .    .  .3.53 

234.  Corinthian  Tomb,  Petra   354 

235.  Rock-cut  interior  at  Petra  ....  355 

236.  Fa9ade  of  Herod's  Tombs       ...  356 

237.  So-called  "  Tomb  of  Zechariah  "  .    .  356 

238.  The  so-called  Tomb  of  Absalom  .    .  357 

239.  Angle  of  Tomb  of  Absalom  .    ...  357 

240.  Fa9ade  of  the  Tombs  of  the  Judges  .  358 

241.  Tomb  at  Mylassa   359 

242.  Tomb  at  Dugga   360 

243.  Plan  of  the  Kubr  Roumeia  ....  361 
244    View  of  the  Madracen   361 

245.  Palace  of  Diocletian  at  Spalatro    .  365 

246.  Golden  Gateway  at  Spalatro  .    .    .  366 

247.  House  of  Pansa  at  Pompeii,    .    .    .  369 

248.  Wall  Decoration  at  Pompeii   ...  371 

249.  Aqueduct  of  Segovia   374 

250.  Aqueduct  of  Tarragona   374 

251.  Bridge  of  Trajan,  Alcantara,  Spain  375 

Egyptian  Vase   376 

252.  Plan  of  Palace  at  Al  Hadhr    ...  378 

253.  Elevation  of  part  of  the  Palace  of 

Al  Hadhr   379 

"254.    View  in  the  Court  of  the  Great 

Mosque  at  Diarbekr   381 

255.  Plan  of  Palace  at  Serbistan    .    .    .  383 

256.  Section  on  line  A  B  of  Palace  at 

Serbistan   383 

257.  Plan  of  Palace  at  Firouzabad  ...  384 

258.  Doorway  at  Firouzabad   384 

259.  Part  of  External  Wall,  Firouzabad  385 

260.  Plan  of  Tak  Kesra  at  Ctesiphon  .    .  385 

261.  Elevation  of  Great  Arch  of  Tak 

Kesra  at  Ctesiphon   386 

262.  Sketch  Plan  of  Palace  at  Mashita  .  387 

263.  Interior  of  ruined  Triapsal  Hall  of 

Palace   388 

204.    One  compartment  of  Western  Oc- 
tagon Tower  of  the  Persian  Palace 

at  Mashita   389 


265.  Part  of  West  Wing  Wall  of  Exter- 

nal Fagade  of  Palace  at  Mashita  .  390 

266.  Elevation  of  External  Fa9ade  of  the 

Palace  at  Mashita,  as  restored  by 


the  Author   392 

267.  Arch  of  Chosroes  at  Takt-i-Bostan  .  393 

268.  Plan  of  Church  at  Djemla  .    .    .    .  404 

269.  Plan  of  Church  at  Announa   ...  404 

270.  Plan  of  Church  at  Ibrim  in  Nubia  .  405 

271.  Plan  of  Basilica  at  Orleansville  .    .  405 

272.  Plan  of  White  Convent  near  Siout .  406 

273.  Plan  of  the  Church  of  San  Clemente 

at  Rome   408 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  VOL.  1. 


xxiu 


NO. 
274. 

275. 

276. 

277. 
278. 
279. 
280. 
281. 


282. 
283. 
284. 
285. 


286. 


290. 
291. 
292. 
293. 
294. 


298. 
299. 


301. 
302. 
303. 
304. 

305. 


307. 
308. 
309. 

310. 
311. 
312. 


313. 

314. 
315. 
316. 
317. 


PAGE 

Plan  of  the  original  Basilica  of  St. 

Peter  at  Kome  411 

Basilica  of  St.  Peter,  before  its  de- 
struction  413 

View  of  tlie  Interior  of  St.  Paul's  at 

Rome,  before  the  fire  415 

Plan  of  Sta.  Maria  Maggiore  ...  416 
View  of  Sta.  Maria  Maggiore  ...  417 

Plan  of  Sta.  Agnese  417 

Section  of  Sta.  Agnese  417 

Restored  View  of  the  Interior  of  the 
Basilica  of  S.  Lorenzo  fuori  le 

Mura  418 

Plan  of  Sta.  Pudentiana  419 

Section  of  Sta.  Pudentiana  ....  419 
Capital  of  Sta.  Pudentiana  ....  420 
Half  Section,  half  Elevation,  of  the 
Church  of  San  Vincenzo  alle  Tre 

Fontane  421 

Plan  of  St,  Appollinare  Nuovo   .    .  422 
Arches  in  Church  of  San  Appolli- 
nare Nuovo  422 

Part  of  Apse  in  S.  Appollinare  in 

Classe,  Ravenna  423 

S.  Appollinare  in  Classe,  Ravenna  ,  423 
Church  at  Parenzo  in  Istria  .  .  .  425 
Capital  of  Pillar  at  Parenzo  .  .  .  425 
Plan  of  Church  at  Torcello  ...  426 
Apse  of  Basilica  at  Torcello  .  .  .  427 
Plan  of  the  Baptistery  of  Constan- 

tine  431 

Plan  of  the  Tomb  of  Sta.  Costanza, 

Rome  431 

Plan  of  San  Stephano  Rotondo  .  .  432 
Plan  of  Sti.  Angeli,  Perugia  .  .  .  435 
Section  of  Sti.  Angeli,  Perugia  .  .  432 
Plan  of  Baptistery  at  Nocera  dei 

Pagan  i  433 

Section  of  Baptistery  at  Nocera  dei 

Pagani  434 

Plan  of  St.  Vitale,  Ravenna  .  .  .  435 
Section  of  St.  Vitale,  Ravenna  .  .  435 
Plan  of  S.  Lorenzo  at  Milan  .  .  .  436 
Plan  of  Tomb  of  Galla  Placidia, 

Ravenna  438 

Capital  of  Pillars  forming  peri, 
style  round  Theodoric's  Tomb, 
Ravenna  439 


Plan  of  Tomb  of  Theodoric     .    .  . 

Elevation  of  Tomb  of  Theodoric  .  . 

Palazzo  delle  Torre,  Turin  .... 

Diagram  of  the  Architectural  Divis- 
ions of  France  

Diagram  of  Vaulting  

Diagram  of  Dome  pendentives    .  . 

Section  of  Church  at  Carcassone, 
with  the  outer  aisles  added  in  the 
14th  Century  

Porch  of  Notre  Dame  de  Doms, 
Avignon  454 

Porch  of  St.  Trophime,  Arlea  .    ,    .  455 

Apse  of  Church  at  Alet  456 

Internal  Angle  of  Apse  at  Alet   .   .  457 

Elevation  of  half  one  Bay  of  the 
Exterior  of  St.  Paul  aux  Trois 
Chateaux  458 

Half  bay  of  Interior  of  St.  Paul  aux 
Trois  Chateaux  458 


439 
439 
441 

443 
449 
450 


452 


321. 
322, 
323. 
324. 
325. 
326, 
328. 
329, 
330, 
331. 
332, 
333. 
334. 
335. 

3.36. 
337. 

338. 

339. 
340. 
341. 
342. 
343. 
344. 
345. 
346. 
347. 
348. 
.349, 
350. 
351. 
352. 
353. 
354. 


PAGE 

Longitudinal  and  Cross  Section  of 

Fontifroide  Church   459 

Doorway  in  Church  at  Maguelone  .  460 

Plan  of  Cathedral,  Vienna  ....  461 

Plan  of  Church  at  Planes   ....  462 

Tower  at  Puissalicon   462 

Church  at  Cruas   463 

Cloister  at  Fontifroide   464 

327.   Capitals  in  Cloister,  Elne  ...  465 

Plan  of  St.  Front,  Perigeux    ...  466 

Part  of  St.  Front,  Perigeux    ...  467 

Interior  of  Church  at  Souillac    .   .  469 

Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Angoul§me     .  470 

One  Bay  of  Nave,  Angouleme  .    .    .  470 

Plan  of  Church  at  Moissac  ....  471 

Plan  of  Cathedral  of  Alby  ....  471 
Plan  of  Church  of  Cordeliers  at 

Toulouse   472 

Section  of  Church  of  Cordeliers  .    .  472 
View  of  Angle  of  Church  of  Cor- 
deliers   472 

Plan    of   Church    of    St.  Sernin, 

Toulouse   474 

Section  of  the  Church  of  St.  Sernin  474 

Plan  of  Church  at  Conques  ....  475 

Plan  of  St.  Martin  at  Tours    ...  475 

Plan  of  Church  at  Charroux  ,    .    .  476 

Plan  of  St.  Benigne,  Dijon  .    .    .    ,  477 

St.  Sernin,  Toulouse   478 

Church  at  Aillas   480 

Church  at  Loupiac   480 

St.  Eloi,  Espalion   481 

Tomb  at  St.  Pierre,  Toulouse  ...  481 

Planof  Cathedral  at  Angers    ...  484 

Plan  of  St,  Trinit(5,  Angers  .    ,    ,    ,  484 

View  of  the  Interior  of  Loches   .    .  485 

Plan  of  Church  at  Fontevrault   .    .  485 

View  of  Chevet  at  Fontevrault  .  .  486 
Elevation  of  one  of  the  Bays  of  the 

Nave  at  Fontevrault   486 

Fa9ade  of  Church  of  Notre  Dame  at 

Poitiers   487 

Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Poitiers  ...  488 

Spire  at  Cunault   489 

Plan  of  Church  at  Issoire    ,    ...  491 
Elevation  of  Church  at  Issoire    .   .  492 
Section  of  Church  at  Issoire,  look- 
ing East    492 

Elevation  of  Chevet,  Notre  Dame 

du  Port  Clermont   493 

Plan  of  Chevet,  Notre  Dame  du 

Port  Clermont   494 

Fortified  Church  at  Royat  ....  495 

Fa9ade  of  Church  of  Ainay  .  .  .  497 
Cloister  of  Cathedral  of  Puy  en 

Velay   498 

A^iew  of  Interior  of  Abbey  at  Tour- 

nus   499 

,    Plan  of  Abbey  Church  at  Chuiy  .    .  500 

View  in  Aisle  at  Autun   501 

View  in  Nave  at  Autun   .501 

.    Section  of  Narthex  at  Vezelay   .    .  502 

.   East  End,  St.  Menoux   503 

,    Chevet,  St.  Menoux   504 

.    Plan  and  Section  of  Basse  CEuvre, 

Beauvais   507 

,   External   and   Internal  View  of 

CEuvre  508 


xxiv 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO  VOL.  1. 


NO. 

PAGE 

NO. 

PAGE 

376. 

Decoration  of  St.  Gr^n^reux    .   .  . 

609 

412. 

Church  of  St.  Ouen  at  Rouen,  from 

376. 

Section  of  Eastern  portion  of  Church 

560 

610 

413. 

Southern  Porch  of  St.  Ouen  at 

377. 

Triapsal  Church  at  Querqueville  . 

612 

561 

378. 

Plan  of  the  Church  of  St.  Stephen, 

414. 

Diagram  of  Plans  of  Pillars   .   .  . 

564 

514 

415. 

Window,  St.  Martin,  Paris  .... 

565 

379. 

Western  Fa9ade   of  St.  Stephen, 

416. 

Window  in  Nave  of  Cathedral  at 

515 

565 

380. 

Section  of  Nave  of  St.  Stephen,  Caen 

516 

417. 

Window  in  Choir  of  Cathedral  at 

381. 

Diagram  of  Vaulting  

517 

665 

382. 

Elevation  of  Compartment  of  Nave 

418. 

566 

of  St.  Stephen,  Caen  

617 

419. 

566 

383. 

Compartment,  Abbaye  des  Dames, 

420. 

567 

518 

421. 

568 

384. 

East  End  of  St.  Nicolas,  Caen .   .  . 

519 

422. 

Transept  Window,  Chartres    .   .  . 

568 

385. 

Lower  Compartment,  Nave,  Bayeux 

620 

423. 

West  Window,  Rheims  

568 

386. 

Plan  of  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame, 

424. 

West  WindoAV,  Evreux  

568 

534 

425. 

569 

387. 

Section  of  Side-aisles,  Cathedral  of 

426. 

571 

535 

427. 

Abbey  Church,  Souvigny  .... 

572 

388. 

External  Elevation,  Cathedral  of 

428. 

574 

535 

429. 

Flying  Buttress  of  St.  Ouen   .   .  . 

574 

389. 

Plan  of  Chartres  Cathedral     .   .  . 

536 

430. 

Flying  Buttress  at  Amiens  .... 

575 

390. 

Plan  of  Rheiins  Cathedral  .... 

537 

431. 

577 

391. 

Plan  of  Amiens  Cathedral  .... 

537 

432. 

Lantern,  St.  Ouen,  Kouen  

578 

392. 

View  of  the  Fa5ade  of  the  Cathedral 

433. 

680 

538 

434. 

580 

393. 

North-West  View  of  the  Cathedral 

435. 

Rood-Screen  from  the  Madelaine  at 

639 

683 

394. 

541 

436. 

584 

695. 

541 

437. 

585 

396. 

Bay  of  Nave  of  Beauvais  Cathedral 

544 

438. 

Portal  of  the  Ducal  Palace  at  Nancy 

586 

397. 

Doorway,  South  Transept,  Beauvais 

645 

439. 

View  of  West  End  of  Church  at 

398. 

Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Neyon    .   .  . 

546 

591 

399. 

Spires  of  Laon  Cathedral  .... 

547 

440. 

Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Tournay    .  . 

592 

400. 

View  of  Cathedral  at  Coutances  .  . 

548 

441. 

Section  of  Central  Portion  of  Church 

401. 

548 

at  Tournay,  looking  South  .   .  . 

598 

402. 

Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Troves    .    .  . 

549 

442. 

West  Front  of   Notre   Dame  de 

403. 

Fagade  of  Cathedral  at  Troyes   .  . 

650 

593 

404. 

Window  of  Cathedral  at  Lyons  .  . 

551 

443. 

Spire  of  the  Chapel  of  St.  Sang, 

405. 

Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Bazas    .    .  . 

551 

406. 

Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Bourges     .  . 

552 

444. 

Window  in  Church  at  Villiers,  near 

407. 

Section  of  Cathedral  at  Bourges 

653 

593 

408. 

View  in  the  Church  of  Charite  sur 

446. 

Plan  of  the  Cathedral  at  Antwerp  . 

594 

446. 

Plan  of  St.  Jacques,  Li^ge  .... 

598 

409. 

Chevet,  Pontigny  ...... 

556 

447. 

601 

410. 

West  Front  of  Ste.  Marie  de  I'fipine 

558 

448. 

602 

411. 

Plan  of  Church  of  St.  Ouen  at 

449. 

604 

559 

450. 

Part  of  the  Bishop's  Palace,  Lifege  . 

606 

HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


VOL.  T. — 1 


INTRODUCTION. 


PART  1. 
Section  I. 

LIKE  every  other  object  of  human  inquiry,  Architecture  may  be 
studied  from  two  distinct  points  of  view.  Either  it  may  be  re- 
garded statically,  and  described  scientifically  as  a  thing  existing, 
without  any  reference  to  the  manner  in  which  it  was  invented;  or  it 
may  be  treated  historically,  tracing  every  form  from  its  origin  and 
noting  the  influence  one  style  has  had  uj^on  another  in  the  j^rogress 
of  time. 

The  first  of  these  methods  is  more  technical,  and  demands  on  the 
part  of  the  student  very  considerable  previous  knowledge  before  it 
can  be  successfully  prosecuted.  The  other,  besides  being  more  popu- 
lar and  easily  followed,  has  the  advantage  of  separating  the  objects 
of  study  into  natural  grou])s,  and  tracing  more  readily  their  connec- 
tion and  relation  to  one  anotlier.  The  great  superiority,  however,  of 
the  historical  mode  of  study  arises  from  the  fact  that,  when  so 
treated,  Architecture  ceases  to  be  a  mere  art,  interesting  only  to  the 
artist  or  his  employer,  but  becomes  one  of  the  most  important 
adjuncts  of  liistory,  filling  up  many  gaps  in  the  written  record  and 
giving  life  and  reality  to  much  that  without  its  presence  could  witli 
difficulty  be  realized. 

A  still  more  important  use  oi  architecture,  when  followed  as  a 
history,  is  found  in  its  ethnographic  value.  Every  different  race  of 
men  had  their  own  peculiar  forms  in  using  the  productions  of  this 
art,  and  their  own  mode  of  expressing  their  feelings  or  aspirations  by 
its  means.  When  properly  studied,  it  consequently  affords  a  means 
as  important  as  language  for  discriminating  between  the  different 
races  of  mankind, — often  more  so,  and  one  always  more  trustwortliy 
and  more  easily  understood. 

In  consequence  of  these  advantages,  the  historical  mode  is  that 
which  will  be  followed  in  this  work.  But  before  entering  upon  the  nar- 
rative, it  will  be  well  if  a  correct  definition  of  what  Architecture 
really  is  can  be  obtained.  Without  st^me  clear  views  on  the  techni- 
cal position  of  the  art,  much  that  follows  will  be  unintelligible  and 
the  meaning  of  what  is  said  may  be  mistaken. 

3 


4 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Book  I. 


A  great  deal  of  the  confusion  of  ideas  existing  on  the  subject  of 
Architecture  arises  from  the  fact  that  writers  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  speaking  of  Painting,  Sculpture,  and  Architecture  as  three  similar 
fine  arts,  practised  on  the  same  principles.  This  error  arose  in  the 
16th  century,  when  in  a  fatal  hour  painters  and  sculptors  undertook 
also  the  practice  of  architecture,  and  builders  ceased  to  be  architects. 
This  confusion  of  ideas  has  been  perpetuated  to  the  present  hour,  and 
much  of  the  degraded  position  of  the  art  at  this  day  is  o  wing  to  the 
mistake  then  made.  It  cannot  therefore  be  too  strongly  insisted 
upon  that  there  is  no  essential  connection  between  painting  and 
sculpture  on  the  one  hand  and  architecture  on  the  other. 

The  two  former  rank  among  what  are  called  Phonetic  arts.  Their 
business  is  to  express  by  color  or  form  ideas  that  could  be  —  generally 
have  been  —  expressed  by  words.  With  the  Egyptians  their  hiero- 
glyphical  paintings  were  their  only  means  of  recording  their  ideas. 
With  us,  such  series  of  pictures  as  Hogarth's  "Mariage  a  la  Mode" 
or  "The  Rake's  Progress"  are  novels  written  with  the  brush ;  and  many 
of  our  Mediaeval  cathedrals  possess  whole  Bibles  carved  in  stone. 
Poetry,  Painting,  and  Sculpture  are  three  branches  of  one  form  of  art, 
refined  from  Prose,  Color,  and  Carving,  and  form  a  group  apart,  inter- 
changing ideas  and  modes  of  expression,  but  always  dealing  with  the 
same  class  of  images  and  appealing  to  the  same  class  of  feelings. 

Distinct  and  separate  from  these  Phonetic  arts  is  another  group, 
gjenerally  known  as  the  Technic  arts,  comprising  all  those  which 
minister  to  the  primary  wants  of  mankind  under  such  various  heads 
as  food,  clothing,  and  shelter.  Between  these  two  groups  is  a  third 
called  the  Esthetic  arts,  forming,  as  it  were,  a  flux  between  the  Tech- 
nic and  Phonetic  arts,  fusing  the  whole  into  one  homogeneous  mass. 
They  take  their  rise  from  the  fact  that  to  every  want  wliich  the 
technic  arts  are  designed  to  supply.  Nature  has  attached  a  gratifica- 
tion which  is  capable  of  refining  all  the  useful  arts  into  fine  arts. 
Thus  the  Technic  art  of  agricultnre  is  capable  of  supplying  food  in 
its  simple  form ;  but  by  the  refinements  of  cookery  and  of  wine- 
making,  simple  meats  and  drinks  are  capable  of  affording  endless 
gratification  to  the  senses.  Simple  clothing  to  keep  out  the  cold  re- 
quires little  art,  but  embroidery,  dyeing,  lace-making,  and  fifty  other 
arts  employ  the  hands  of  millions,  and  the  gratification  afforded  by 
their  use,  the  thoughts  of  as  many  more.  Shelter,  too,  is  easily  pro- 
vided, but  ornamental  and  ornamented  shelter,  or  in  other  words 
architecture,  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  fine  arts.  Music, 
though  hardly  known  as  a  useful  art,  is  the  most  typical  of  the 
Esthetic  arts,  and,  "  married  to  immortal  verse,"  steps  upwards  into 
the  region  of  the  Phonetic  arts,  just  as  building,  when  used  for  orna- 
ment, is  raised  out  of  the  domain  of  the  Technic  arts. 

Like  music,  color  and  form  may  be  so  arranged  as  to  afford 


Sect.  U 


INTRODUCTION. 


5 


infinite  pleasure  to  the  senses  without  their  having  any  phonetic 
value;  but  when  used  as  sculpture  and  painting  are  and  have  been 
in  all  ages,  to  tell  a  tale  or  to  express  emotion,  they  rank  high  among 
the  Phonetic  arts;  and  though  able  to  express  certain  impressions 
even  more  vividly  than  can  be  done  by  words,  they  cannot  rise  to  the 
high  intellectual  position  that  can  be  attained  either  by  Poetry  or 
Eloquence  when  expressed  only  in  that  verbal  language  which  is  the 
highest  gift  of  God  to  man. 

II.  —  Beauty  in  Art. 

The  term  Beauty  in  Art  is  little  else  than  a  Synonym  for  Perfec- 
tion, but  perfection  in  these  three  classes  of  arts  is  far  from  being  the 
same  thing,  or  of  anything  like  the  same  value,  as  an  intellectual 
expression.  The  beauty  of  a  machine,  however  complicated,  arises 
mainly  from  its  adaptability  to  use ;  while  a  mosaic  of  exquisite 
colors,  or  an  elevated  piece  of  instrumental  music,  raises  emotions  of 
a  far  higher  class ;  and  a  painting  or  a  poem  may  appeal  to  all  that  is 
great  or  noble  in  human  nature. 

If,  for  instance,  we  take  a  dozen  arts  at  random,  and  divide  them 
into  twelve  equal  component  parts,  as  they  belong  to  each  of  the  three 
divisions.  Technic,  Esthetic,  or  Phonetic.  If  we  further  assign  one 
as  the  relative  intellectual  value  of  the  Technic  element,  two  as  that 
due  to  the  Esthetic,  and  three  as  the  proportionate  importance  of 
the  Phonetic,  we  obtain  the  index  number  in  the  fourth  column  of  the 
table  below,  which  is  probably  not  far  from  expressing  the  true  rela- 
tive value  of  each.  Of  course  there  are  adventitious  circumstances 
which  may  raise  the  proportionate  value  of  any  art  very  considerably, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  neglect  of  cultivation  may  depress  others 
below  their  true  value  ;  but  the  principles  on  which  the  table  is  formed 
are  probably  those  by  which  a  correct  estimate  may  be  most  easily 

obtained, 
t 


Technic. 

Esthetic. 

Phonetic. 

Heating-,  Ventilation,  etc.  .  . 

.    ...  11 

1 

=  13 

...  9 

3 

=  15 

5 

=  17 

.    .    .  7 

4 

1 

=  18 

...  5 

6 

1 

=  20 

...  5 

5 

2 

=  21 

...  4 

6 

2 

=  22 

.    .    .  4 

4 

4 

=  24 

...  2 

6 

4 

=  26 

...  3 

3 

6 

=  27 

...  2 

2 

8 

=  30 

2 

10 

=  34 

1 

11 

=  35 

The  first  three  arts  enumerated  in  the  above  table  are  evidentl>' 


6 


HISTORY  OF  AIICHITECTURE. 


Pakt  I. 


utterly  incapable  of  Phonetic  expression,  and  the  first  hardly  even  can 
be  raised  to  the  second  class,  though  air  combined  with  warmth  does 
afford  pleasure  to  the  senses.  Joinery  may  convey  an  idea  of  per- 
fection from  the  mode  in  which  it  is  designed  or  executed ;  while 
gastronomy,  as  above  mentioned,  does  really  afford  important  grati- 
fication to  the  senses,  approaching  nearly  in  importance  to  the  plain 
food-supplying  art  of  cookery.  Jewelry  may  combine  extreme  me- 
chanical beauty  of  execution  with  the  most  harmonious  arrangement 
of  color,  and  may  also  be  made  to  express  a  meaning,  though  only  to 
a  very  limited  extent.  Clothing  depends  on  both  color  and  form  for 
its  perfection  more  than  even  beauty  of  material,  and  may  be  made 
to  express  gaiety  or  sorrow,  though  perhaps  more  from  association 
than  from  any  inherent  qualities.  The  arts  of  the  potter  can  exhibit 
not  only  perfection  in  execution,  but  practically  depend,  both  in  color 
and  form,  especially  the  latter,  to  raise  their  products  out  of  the  cat- 
egory of  mere  Technic  arts  ;  while  the  paintings  on  them,  which  are 
indispensable  to  the  highest  class  of  ceramique,  render  them  capable 
of  taking  their  place  among  those  objects  which  affect  a  Phonetic- 
mode  of  utterance.  As  mentioned  above,  floriculture  and  landscape 
gardening  may,  besides  their  use,  afford  infinite  pleasure  to  the  senses 
and  even  express  gaiety  or  gloom,  and  from  mere  prettiness,  may  rise 
towards  something  like  sublimity  of  expression. 

Architecture  is,  however,  the  central  art  of  the  group,  which  in  its 
highest  form  combines  all  the  three  classes  in  nearly  equal  propor- 
tions, but  not  always  necessarily  so.  The  Pyramids  of  Egypt,  for 
instance,  though  Technically  the  most  wonderful  buildings  in  the 
world,  have  very  little  Esthetic,  and  hardly  more  than  one  of  Pho- 
netic, value.  The  great  temple  at  Baalbec,  —  and  in  fact  all  the  Ro- 
man temples,  may  be  classed  as  containing  six  parts  of  Technic  value 
for  mechanical  excellence  of  size  and  construction,  four  for  beauty  of 
form  and  detail,  but  certainly  not  more  than  two  parts  for  any  ex- 
pression of  religion  or  intellect  they  may  exhibit,  making  up»twenty 
for  the  index  of  their  artistic  value.  Cologne  cathedral  takes  very 
nearly  the  same  position  in  the  scale,  but  Rheims,  Bourges,  and  the 
more  perfect  Gothic  cathedrals  may  be  classed  higher,  as  five  Technic, 
three  ^Esthetic,  and  four  Phonetic,  making  twenty-three  altogether 
as  their  index ;  and  they  are  only  surpassed  by  such  a  building  as  the 
Par^benon  at  Athens,  which,  though  not  so  large  and  imposing  as 
ROi^Lothers,  is,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  most  perfect  building  yet 
ere^pd  by  man.  It  owes  this  perfection  mainly  to  the  equal  balance 
of  parts.  There  is  nothing  so  difl^icult  or  startling  in  its  construction 
as  there  is  in  most  Gothic  cathedrals ;  but  what  there  is  is  mechani- 
cally perfect,  both  in  design  and  execution.  Its  form  is  nearly  per- 
fect, combining  stability  with  simplicity,  and  at  the  same  time 
avoiding  monotony  or  any  appearance  of  greater  strength  than  is 


Sect.  II 


INTRODUCTION. 


7 


absolutely  necessary.  Its  details  are  all  as  exquisite  in  form  as  the 
Temple  itself,  and  it  was  at  one  time  colored  to  an  extent  we  can 
hardly  now  realize,  but  which  must,  when  complete,  have  made  it  one 
of  the  most  perfect  examples  of  Esthetic  art.  The  walls  of  the  cella 
were  almost  certainly  covered  with  Phonetic  paintings  similar  to  those 
in  the  Lesche  at  Delphi ;  and  the  pediment,  the  metopes,  the  friezes, 
were  all  sculptured  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  the  Phonetic  ex- 
pression of  the  building  at  least  equal  to  either  its  Technic  or  its 
Esthetic  excellence.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  a  building,  such  as  a 
trophy  or  a  mausoleum,  in  which  painting  and  sculpture  shall  be  rel- 
atively more  important  than  they  are  in  this  instance,  and  in  which 
consequently  the  index  may  be  raised  above  twenty-four ;  but  if  this 
were  so,  it  ought  probably  to  be  classed  among  works  of  sculpture  or 
painting  rather  than  as  an  object  of  architecture. 

In  music  the  Esthetic  element  naturally  prevails  over  the  other 
two,  but  Technic  cleverness  of  execution  often  affords  to  some  as 
much  pleasure  as  the  harmony  of  the  sounds  produced ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  in  its  power  of  expressing  joy  or  sorrow  and  of  exciting 
varied  emotions  at  will,  it  rivals  frequently  the  more  distinct  and  per- 
manent power  of  words  themselves,  when  unaccompanied  by  Esthetic 
forms  of  art.  It  is  of  course,  however,  in  the  outpourings  of  his 
imagination  or  in  the  logical  products  of  his  reason  that  man  rises 
highest,  and  stands  most  distinctly  apart  from  the  rest  of  created 
beings ;  and  though  all  may  not  be  capable  of  appreciating  it,  it  is 
when  both  Technic  and  Esthetic  adjuncts  are  laid  aside,  and  man 
listens  only  to  the  voice  of  reason,  that  he  reaches  what,  as  far  as  we 
can  now  see,  is  the  highest  form  of  his  artistic  development. 

Of  course  there  are  many  other  forms  in  which  this  might  be  ex- 
pressed, and  many  will  be  inclined  to  dispute  the  correctness  of  the- 
figures  assigned  to  each  art.  They  are,  in  fact,  only  approximations, 
and  as  a  first  attempt  can  hardly  be  expected  to  meet  all  the  condi- 
tions of  the  problem.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  it  would  have 
been  better  to  use  algebraic  symbols,  and  to  allow  every  one  to  trans- 
late them  into  numbers  according  to  his  own  fancy,  but  in  the  present 
state  of  matters  such  an  attempt  would  have  savored  of  affectation. 
The  art  of  criticism  is  not  sufficiently  advanced  for  this,  but  if  two 
or  three  would  follow  up  what  is  here  indicated,  it  might  be  placed 
on  a  basis  from  which  to  proceed  higher.  Meanwhile,  perhaps  the 
annexed  diagram  may  serve  to  explain  the  relation  of  the  three  classes 
of  art  to  one  another,  and  the  way  in  which  they  overlap  and  mix 
together  so  as  to  make  up  a  perfect  art.  Like  the  preceding  table,  it 
will  require  several  editions,  the  work  of  several  minds,  before  it  can 
be  perfected,  but  it  probably  is  not  far  from  representing  the  truth  as 
at  present  known. 

There  is  still  another  relation  of  these  arts  to  one  another  which 


8 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  1. 


must  not  be  overlooked  before  proceeding  further,  as  a  knowledge  of 
it  is  indispensable  in  forming  a  correct  judgment  of  their  respective 
merits.    Like  the  Sciences,  the  Technic  arts  hardly  depend,  after  the 


Diagram  No.  1. 


first  steps  have  been  taken,  on  individual  prowess  for  their  advance- 
ment. An  astronomer,  a  chemist,  or  a  natural  historian,  now  starts 
from  the  highest  point  reached  by  any  of  his  predecessors,  and  he  has 
only  to  observe  and  calculate,  to  analyze  and  put  together  again,  in 
order  to  advance  our  knowledge.  A  giant  may  of  course  make  a 
rapid  stride  in  advance,  but  a  hundred  dwarfs  will,  if  they  persevere 
steadily  in  the  right  path,  not  only  overtake  him,  but  probably 
advance  far  beyond  anything  the  most  gigantic  intellect  can  accom- 
plish in  science.  So  it  is  also  in  the  mechanical  arts.  The  immense 
strides  that  have  of  late  years  been  made  in  improving  all  the 
machines  employed  in  manufactures  have  not  been  made  by  the 
greatest  intellects,  but  by  thousands  of  men  suggesting  new  con- 
trivances and  acquiring  skill  by  steady  improvement  in  manipulation. 
In  ship-building,  for  instance,  one  of  the  most  complex  of  the  useful 
arts,  no  one  can  tell  who  the  men  were  who  converted  the  rude  gal- 
leys in  which  our  forefathers  sailed  to  Crecy  and  Agincourt  into  the 
gigantic  commercial  steamers  and  war  ships  of  the  present  day.  It 
was  the  result  of  thousands  of  intellects  working  steadily  towards  a 
well-defined  aim,  and  accomplishing  a  triumph  by  a  process  which 
must  always  be  successful  in  the  Technic  arts  when  persevered  in 
long  enough. 

The  case  is  somewhat  different  with  the  Esthetic  arts.  Some  men 
are  insensible  to  the  harmony  of  color  and  are  not  offended  by  the 
crudest  contrasts.  Others  do  not  perceive  concords  in  music,  and 
the  most  violent  discords  give  them  no  pain  ;  others,  on  the  contrary, 
are  endowed  with  the  utmost  sensibility  on  these  points,  and  are 
consequently  not  only  able  to  appreciate  the  beauty  of  the  arts  arising 
out  of  color  or  sound,  but  of  advancing  what  to  those  who  cannot 
understand  them  is  an  inexplicable  mystery. 


Sect.  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


5 


When  from  the  Esthetic  arts  we  turn  to  the  Sciences  and  Technic 
Arts,  we  find,  as  just  pointed  out,  that  the  individual  becomes  much 
less  important  and  the  process  everything.  Every  astronomer  now 
knows  more  than  Newton  ;  every  chemist  than  John  Dalton.  Any 
ordinary  mechanic  can  start  from  a  higher  point  than  was  reached 
by  a  Watt  or  an  Arkwright  or  a  Stephenson,  and  can  surpass  them. 
But  no  man  can  mount  on  the  shoulders  of  such  men  as  Handel  or 
Mozart  or  Beethoven,  and  surpass  them  ;  and  the  higher  we  ascend 
in  the  scale  of  arts  the  more  important  does  the  individual  become 
and  the  less  so  the  process.  A  Phidias,  a  Raphael,  a  Shakespeare, 
are  yet  unsurpassed,  and  possibly  never  may  be.  All  men  may  be 
taught  to  carve,  to  color,  and  to  write  mechanically,  and  may  even 
be  instructed  to  practise  these  processes  so  as  to  afford  pleasure  to 
themselves  and  others;  but  when  from  this  we  rise  to  Phonetic 
painting,  sculpture,  or  poetry,  and  the  still  higher  region  of  philo- 
sophy, the  individual  becomes  all  in  all,  and  his  special  genius  there 
stamps  the  true  value  of  the  production. 

In  this  respect,  again.  Architecture  is  singularly  happy  as  a  means 
of  study.  As  a  Technic  art  it  is  practised  in  the  same  progressive 
principles  as  all  its  sister  arts,  irresj^ective  of  individuality.  As  an 
Esthetic  art  it  is  hardly  so  individual  as  music,  because  its  forms  and 
colors  are  permanent  and  capable  of  being  repeated  with  such 
improvements  as  each  experiment  suggests  in  every  subsequent  build- 
ing ;  but  when  it  attempts  Phonetic  forms  of  utterance,  these  are  seldom 
so  absolutely  integral  that  they  cannot  be  separated  from  the  building 
and  judged  of  apart.  A  Greek  temple  or  a  Mediaeval  cathedral  without 
painting  and  sculpture  may  be  poor  and  inanimate,  but  still  so  beautiful 
in  its  form,  so  grand  from  its  mass,  and  so  imposing  from  its  durability, 
that  in  its  Technic-^sthetic  form  alone  it  may  command  our  admira- 
tion, more  perhaps  than  any  other  work  of  human  hands,  except  of 
course,  as  said  before,  the  highest  intellectual  forms  of  Phonetic  art. 
Architecture  thus  combines  in  itself  the  steady  progressive  perfectibility 
of  a  Technic  art  quite  independent  of  the  intellectual  capabilities  of 
the  architect,  combined  with  the  ^Esthetic  appreciation  of  form  and 
color  which  is  mostly  universal,  and  can  at  all  events  be  generally 
inculcated  and  learned.  But  its  greatest  glory  is  that  it  can  enlist  in 
its  service  the  higher  branches  of  Phonetic  sculpture  and  painting, 
which  can  be  exercised  only  by  specially  gifted  individuals.  It  is 
difficult  to  conceive  all  these  qualities  being  equally  combined  in  the 
person  of  any  one  architect,  and  in  practice  it  is  by  no  means  necessary 
for  success  that  it  should  be  so,  though,  if  possible,  the  combination 
would  no  doubt  be  advantageous.  In  criticizing,  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
always  necessary  to  separate  and  distinguish  between  the  mechanical, 
the  sensuous,  and  the  intellectual  part  of  a  design.  Without  this  an 
intelligent  appreciation  of  its  merits  or  defects  can  hardly  be  obtained. 


10 


IILSTORY  OF  AECHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  pointed  out  ah'eady,  and  the 
advantages  of  its  central  position  among  the  sister  arts,  combined  with 
its  own  intrinsic  merits,  Architecture  would  never  have  attained  to 
the  high  position  it  now  occupies  had  it  not  been  fitted  with  an  aim 
which  raised  it  far  above  all  utilitarian  feelings.    In  all  ages,  though 
certainly  not  among  all  nations,  Architecture  has  been  employed  as 
one  of  the  principal  forms  of  worship.    The  desire  to  erect  a  temple 
to  their  Gods  worthy  to  be  their  dwelling-place  has  exalted  even  the 
rude  arts  of  savages  into  something  worthy  of  admiration,  and  when 
such  a  nation  as  the  Egyptians  were  inspired  with  the  same  desire, 
they  produced,  even  in  the  earliest  ages,  temples  which  still  excite 
feelings  of  admiration  and  of  awe.    Had  the  practice  of  architecture 
been  restricted  to  supj)lying  only  the  ordinary  wants  of  mortals,  it 
never  would  have  risen  to  be  the  noble  art  it  now  is.    Neither  the 
palaces  of  tlie  greatest  kings,  nor  the  wants  of  the  proudest  munici- 
palities, nor  the  cmporia  of  the  richest  commerce  would  have  supplied 
tliat  lofty  aim  which  is  indispensable  for  any  great  intellectual  effort. 
But  when  freed  from  all  trammels  of  use  or  expense,  the  object  is  to 
erect  a  casket  wortliy  to  enshrine  the  sacred  image  of  a  god  whom 
men  feared  but  adored,  the  aspiration  elevates  the  work  far  beyond  its 
useful  purpose.    It  is  when  men  seek  to  erect  a  hall  in  which  wor- 
shippers may  meet   to  render  that  homage  which  is  their  greatest 
privilege  and  their  highest  aspiration,  when  all  that  man  can  con- 
ceive that  is  great  and  beautiful  is  enlisted  to  create  something 
worthy  of  the  purpose,  that  temples  have  been  erected  which  rank 
among  the  most  successful  works  man  has  yet  produced.    Had  any 
exigencies  of  use  or  economy  controlled  the  design  of  the  Parthenon, 
or  of  any  of  our  Mediaeval  cathedrals,  they  must  have  taken  a  much 
lower  place  in  the  scale  than  they  now  occupy.     Their  architects 
were,  however,  in  fact  as  free  from  any  utilitarian  influences  as 
the  poets  who  composed  the  "  Iliad  "  or  "  Paradise  Lost." 


III.  —  Definition  op  Architecture. 


If  what  has  just  been  said  above  is  understood,  it  may  be  sufficient 
to  make  it  possible  to  give  a  more  definite  answer  than  has  usually 
been  done  to  two  questions  to  which  hitherto  no  satisfactory  reply  has 
been  accorded  in  modern  times.  "  WJiat,'''  it  is  frequently  asked,  "  is 
the  true  definition  of  the  loord  Architecture,  or  of  the  Art  to  which  it 
applies  "  "  Wh  at  are  the  principles  which  ought  to  guide  us  in  designing 
or  criticizing  Architectu7^al  objects  f  " 

Fifty  years  ago  the  answers  to  these  questions  generally  were,  that 
Architecture  consisted  in  the  closest  possible  imitation  of  the  forms  and 
orders  employed  by  the  Romans;  that  a  church  was  well  designed 


Sect.  III. 


INTRODUCTION. 


11 


exactly  in  the  proportion  in  which  it  resembled  a  heathen  temple  ;  and 
that  the  merit  of  a  civic  building  was  to  be  measured  by  its  imitation, 
more  or  less  perfect,  of  some  palace  or  amphitheatre  of  classic  times. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  century  these  answers  were  somewhat 
modified  by  the  publication  of  Stuart's  works  on  Athens ;  the  word 
Grecian  was  substituted  for  Roman  in  all  criticisms,  and  the  few 
forms  that  remain  to  us  of  Grecian  art  were  repeated  ad  nauseam  in 
buildings  of  the  most. heterogeneous  class  and  character. 

At  the  present  day  churches  have  been  entirely  removed  from  the 
domain  of  classic  art,  and  their  merit  is  made  to  depend  on  their  being 
correct  reproductions  of  mediaeval  designs.  Museums  and  town  halls 
still  generally  adhere  to  classic  forms,  alternating  between  Greek  and 
Roman.  In  some  of  our  public  buildings  an  attempt  has  recently  been 
made  to  reproduce  the  Middie  ^<>r;s,  w^hile  in  our  palaces  and  club- 
houses that  compromise  between  classicality  and  common  sense  which 
is  called  Italian  is  generally  adhered  to.  These,  it  is  evident,  are  the 
mere  chanajinsj  fashions  of  art.  There  is  nothinsj  real  or  essential  in 
this  Babel  of  styles,  and  we  must  go  deeper  below  the  surface  to 
enable  us  to  obtain  a  true  definition  of  the  art  or  of  its  purposes- 
Before  attempting  this,  however,  it  is  essential  to  bear  in  mind  that 
two  wholly  different  systems  of  architecture  have  been  followed  at 
different  periods  in  the  w^orld's  history. 

The  first  is  that  which  prevailed  since  the  art  first  dawned,  in 
Egypt,  in  Greece,  in  Rome,  in  Asia,  and  in  all  Europe,  during 
the  Middle  Ages,  and  generally  in  all  countries  of  the  world  down  to 
the  time  of  the  Reformation  in  the  16th  century,  and  still  predominates 
in  remote  corners  of  the  globe  wherever  European  civilization  or  its 
influences  have  not  yet  penetrated.  The  othe/-  being  that  which  was 
introduced  with  the  revival  of  classic  literature  contemporaneously 
with  the  reformation  of  religion,  and  still  pervades  all  Europe  and 
wherever  European  influences  has  established  itself. 

In  the  first  period  the  art  of  architecture  consisted  in  designing  a 
building  so  as  to  be  most  suitable  and  convenient  for  the  purposes 
required,  in  arranging  the  parts  so  as  to  produce  the  most  stately  and 
ornamental  effect  consistent  with  its  uses,  and  in  applying  to  it  such 
ornament  as  should  express  and  harmonize  with  the  construction,  and 
be  appropriate  to  the  purposes  of  the  building ;  while  at  the  same  time 
the  architects  took  care  that  the  ornament  should  be  the  most  elegant 
in  itself  which  it  was  in  their  power  to  design. 

Following  this  system,  not  only  the  Egyptian,  the  Greek,  and  the 
Gothic  architects,  but  even  the  indolent  and  half  civilized  inhabitants 
of  India,  the  stolid  Tartars  of  Thibet  and  China,  and  the  savage  Mexi- 
cans, succeeded  in  erecting  great  and  beautiful  buildings.  No  race, 
however  rude  or  remote,  has  failed,  when  working  on  this  system,  to 
produce  buildings  which  are  admired  by  all  who  behold  them,  and  are 


12 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


well  worthy  of  the  most  attentive  consideration.  Indeed,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  indicate  one  single  building  in  any  part  of  the  world, 
designed  during  the  prevalence  of  this  true  form  of  art,  which  was  not 
thought  beautiful,  not  alone  by  those  who  erected  it,  but  which  does 
not  remain  a  permanent  object  of  admiration  and  of  study  even  for 
strangers  in  all  future  ages. 

The  result  of  the  other  system  is  widely  different  from  this.  It  has 
now  been  practised  in  Europe  for  more  than  three  centuries,  and  by 
people  who  have  more  knowledge  of  architectural  forms,  more  construc- 
tive skill,  and  more  power  of  combining  science  and  art  in  effecting  a 
great  object,  than  any  people  who  ever  existed  before.  Notwithstand- 
ing this,  from  the  building  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  to  that  of  our  own 
Parliament  Houses,  not  one  building  has  been  produced  that  is  admitted 
to  be  entirely  satisfactory,  or  which  permanently  retains  a  hold  on 
general  admiration.  Many  are  large  and  stately  to  an  extent  almost 
unknown  before,  and  many  are  ornamented  with  a  prof  useness  of  which 
no  previous  examples  exist;  but  with  all  this,  though  they  conform 
with  the  passing  fashions  of  the  day,  they  soon  become  antiquated  and 
out  of  date,  and  men  wonder  how  such  a  style  could  ever  have  been 
thought  beautiful,  just  as  we  wonder  how  any  one  could  have  admired 
the  female  costumes  of  the  last  century  which  captivated  the  hearts  of 
our  grandfathers. 

It  does  not  require  us  to  go  A^ery  deeply  into  the  philosophy  of  the 
subject  to  find  out  why  this  should  be  the  case  ;  the  fact  simply  being 
that  no  sham  w^as  ever  permanently  successful,  either  in  morals  or  in 
art,  and  no  falsehood  ever  remained  long  without  being  found  out,  or 
which,  when  detected,  inevitably  did  not  cease  to  please.  It  is  literally 
impossible  that  we  should  reproduce  either  the  circumstances  or  the 
feelings  which  gave  rise  to  classical  art  and  made  it  a  reality ;  and 
though  Gothic  art  was  a  thing  of  our  century  and  of  our  own  race,  it 
belongs  to  a  state  of  society  so  totally  different  from  anything  that  now 
exists,  that  any  attempt  at  reproduction  now  must  at  best  be  a  masque- 
rade, and  never  can  be  a  real  or  an  earnest  form  of  art.  The  designers- 
of  the  Eglinton  Tournament  carried  the  system  to  a  perfectly  legitimate 
conclusion  when  they  sought  to  reproduce  the  customs  and  warlike 
exercises  of  our  ancestors  ;  and  the  pre-Raphaelite  painters  were  equally 
justified  in  attempting  to  do  in  painting  that  which  was  done  every 
day  in  architecture.  Both  attempts  failed  signally,  because  we  had 
progressed  in  the  arts  of  war  and  painting,  and  could  easily  detect  the 
absurdity  of  these  practices.  It  is  in  architecture  alone  of  all  the  arts 
that  the  false  system  remains,  and  we  do  not  yet  perceive  the  impossi- 
bility of  its  leading  to  any  satisfactory  result. 

Bearing  all  this  in  mind,  let  us  try  if  we  can  come  to  a  clearer 
definition  of  what  this  art  really  is,  and  in  what  its  merits  consist.  Let 


Sect.  III. 


INTRODUCTION. 


US  suppose  the  Diagram  (Woodcut  No.  2.)  to  represent  a  cotton-factory, 
a  warehouse,  or  any  very  commonplace  utilitarian  building.  The  first 
division,  a,  is  not  only  the  most  prosaic  form  of  building,  but  is  bad 
building,  as  no  attempt  is  made  to  strengthen  the  parts  requiring  it, 
and  no  more  thought  is  bestowed  upon  it  than  if  it  were  a  garden  wall 
or  a  street  pavement.  The  second  division,  b,  is  better :  the  arching 
of  the  upper  windows  binds  together  the  weakest  parts,  and  gives 
mass  where  it  is  most  needed  to  resist  the  pressure  or  thrust  of  the  roof; 
and  the  carrying  down  the  piers  between  the  windows  gives  strength 
where  wanted.  In  this  stage  the  building  belongs  to  civil  engineer- 
ing, which  may  be  defined  as  the  art  of  disposing  the  most  suitable 


No.  2. 

materials  in  the  most  economical  but  scientific  manner  to  attain  a  given 
utilitarian  end.  In  the  third  division,  c,  this  is  carried  still  farther; 
the  materials  are  better  disposed  than  in  the  last  example,  and,  ev^ 
without  the  slight  amount  of  ornament  applied,  . it  is  a  better  example 
of  engineering.  The  ornament  is  not  more  than  would  be  considered 
in  some  states  of  society  indispensable  for  even  the  most  utilitarian 
buildings.  The  cornice  may  be  said  to  be  required  to  protect  the 
wall  from  wet ;  the  consoles  to  support  it ;  and  the  mouldings  at 
the  springing  of  the  arch  may  be  insertions  required  for  stability. 
In  the  present  day,  however,  even  this  slight  amount  of  ornament  is 
almost  suflficient  to  take  it  out  of  the  domain  of  useful  art  into  that  of 
architecture.  The  fourth  division,  d,  is  certainly  within  the  limits 
of  the  province  of  architecture  ;  and  though  it  may  be  bad  art,  still 
the  amount  of  ornament  applied,  all  other  things  remaining  the  same, 
entitles  this  division  to  rank  as  a  work  of  the  fine  art,  architecture. 


14 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Part  I, 


The  fifth  division,  e,  carries  the  advance  still  fartlier.  In  this  instance 
not  only  is  a  greater  amount  of  ornament  applied,  but  the  parts  are 
so  disposed  as  in  themselves  to  produce  a  more  agreeable  effect ;  and 
although  the  height  of  the  floors  remains  the  same,  and  the  amount  of 
light  introduced  very  nearly  so,  still  the  slight  grouping  of  the  parts  is 
such  as  to  produce  a  better  class  of  architecture  than  could  be  done  by 
the  mere  application  of  any  amount  of  ornament. 

If  it  is  admitted  that  the  last  division  in  the  diagram  is  an  object 
of  architecture,  which  the  first  is  not,  it  follows  from  the  analysis 
that  architecture  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  art  of  ornamental  and 
ornamented  construction. 

Recurring,  for  instance,  to  the  Parthenon,  to  illustrate  this  principle 
farther.  The  proportions  of  length  to  breadtli,  and  of  height  to  both 
these,  are  instances  of  carefully-studied  ornamental  construction  ;  and 
still  more  so  is  the  arrangement  of  the  porticoes  and  the  disposition  of 
the  peristyle.  If  all  the  pillars  were  plain  square  piers,  and  all  the 
mouldings  square  and  flat,  still  the  Parthenon  could  not  fail,  from  the 
mere  disposition  of  its  j)arts,  to  be  a  pleasing  and  imposing  building. 
So  it  is  with  a  Gothic  cathedral.  The  })roportion  of  length  to  breadth, 
the  projection  of  the  transepts,  the  different  height  of  the  central  and 
side  aisles,  the  disposition  and  proportion  of  the  towers^  are  all  instances 
of  ornamental  construction,  and  beautiful  even  if  without  ornament. 
Many  of  the  older  abbeys,  esi)ecially  those  of  the  Cistercians,  are  as 
devoid  of  ornament  as  a  modem  barn;  but  from  the  mere  dispositio!\ 
of  their  parts  they  are  always  pleasing,  and,  if  large,  are  imposing 
objects  of  architecture.  Stonehenge  is  an  instance  of  ornamental  con- 
struction wholly  without  ornament,  yet  it  is  almost  as  imposing  an 
architectural  object  as  any  of  the  same  dimensions  in  any  part  of  the 
world.  It  is,  however,  when  ornament  is  added  to  this,  and  when  that 
ornament  is  elegant  itself  and  appropriate  to  the  construction  and  to 
the  purposes  of  the  building,  that  the  temple  or  the  cathedral  ranks 
among  the  highest  objects  of  the  art  and  becomes  one  of  the  noblest 
works  of  man. 

Even  without  ornamental  construction,  a  building,  may,  by  mere 
dint  of  ornament,  become  an  architectural  object,  though  it  is  far 
more  diflicult  to  attain  good  architecture  by  this  means,  and  in  true 
styles  it  has  seldom  been  attempted.  Still,  such  a  building  as  the  town- 
hall  at  Louvain,  which  if  stripped  of  its  ornaments  would  be  little 
better  than  a  factory,  by  richness  and  appropriateness  of  ornament 
alone  has  become  a  very  pleasing  specimen  of  the  art.  In  modern 
times  it  is  too  much  the  fashion  to  attempt  to  produce  architectural 
effects  not  only  without  attending  to  ornamental  construction,  but 
often  in  defiance  of,  and  in  concealing  that  which  exists.  When  this 
is  done  the  result  must  be  bad  art ;  but  nevertheless  it  is  architecture, 
however  execrable  it  may  be. 


Sect.  III. 


INTRODUCTION. 


15 


If  these  premises  are  correct,  the  art  of  the  builder  consists  in 
merely  heaping  materials  together  so  as  to  attain  the  desired  end  in 
the  speediest  and  readiest  fashion.  The  art  of  the  civil  or  military 
engineer  consists  in  selecting  the  best  and  most  appropriate  materials 
for  the  object  he  has  in  view,  and  using  these  in  the  most  scientific 
jnanner,  so  as  to  ensure  an  economical  but  satisfactory  result.  Where 
the  engineer  leaves  off,  the  art  of  the  architect  begins.  His  object  is 
to  arrange  the  materials  of  the  engineer,  not  so  much  with  regard  to 
economical  as  to  artistic  effects,  and  by  light  and  shade,  and  outline, 
to  produce  a  form  that  in  itself  shall  be  permanently  beautiful.  He 
then  adds  ornament,  which  by  its  meaning  doubles  the  effect  of  the 
disposition  he  has  just  made,  and  by  its  elegance  throws  a  charm  over 
the  w^hole  composition. 

Viewed  in  this  light,  it  is  evident  that  there  are  no  objects  that 
are  usually  delegated  to  the  civil  engineer  which  may  not  be  brought 
within  the  province  of  the  architect.  A  bridge,  an  aqueduct,  the 
embankment  of  a  lake,  or  the  pier  of  a  harbor,  are  all  as  legitimate 
subjects  for  architectural  ornament  as  a  temple  or  a  palace.  They  were 
all  so  treated  by  the  Romans  and  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  are  so  treated 
up  to  the  present  day  in  the  remote  parts  of  India,  and  wherever  true 
art  prevails. 

It  is  not  essential  that  the  engineer  should  know  anything  of 
architecture,  though  it  is  certainly  desirable  he  should  do  so ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  indispensably  necessary  that  the  architect  should 
understand  construction.  Without  that  knowledge  he  cannot  design  ; 
but  it  would  be  well  if,  in  most  instances,  he  would  delegate  the 
mechanical  part  of  his  task  to  the  engineer,  and  so  restrict  himself 
entirely  to  the  artistic  arrangement  and  the  ornamentation  of  his 
design.  This  division  of  labor  is  essential  to  success,  and  was  always 
practised  where  art  was  a  reality ;  and  no  great  work  should  be  under- 
taken without  the  union  of  the  two.  Perfect  artistic  and  perfect 
mechanical  skill  can  hardly  be  found  combined  in  one  person,  but  it 
is  only  by  their  joint  assistance  that  a  great  work  of  architecture  can 
be  produced.  A  building  may  be  said  to  be  an  object  of  architectural 
art  in  the  proportion  in  which  the  artistic  or  ornamental  purposes  are 
allowed  to  prevail  over  the  mechanical ;  and  an  object  of  engineering 
skill,  where  the  utilitarian  exigencies  of  the  design  are  allowed  to 
supersede  the  artistic.  But  it  is  nowhere  possible  to  draw  the  line 
sharply  between  the  two,  nor  is  it  desirable  to  do  so.  Architecture 
can  never  descend  so  low,  nor  need  it  ever  be  afraid  of  ornamenting 
too  mean  objects;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  good  engineering  is  abso- 
lutely indispensable  to  a  satisfactory  architectural  effect  of  any  class. 
The  one  is  the  prose,  the  other  is  the  poetry  of  the  art  of  building. 

In  addition,  however,  to  the  convenient  arrangement  and  proper 
construction  of  a  building,  which  is  the  province  of  the  engineer,  or  its 


16 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


ornamental  or  ornamented  design,  which  belongs  especially  to  the  archi- 
tect, there  is  still  a  third  element  which  requires  the  special  endow- 
ment of  an  artist  for  its  exercise.  No  architectural  object  can  be 
considered  as  complete,  or  as  having  attained  the  highest  excellence 
till  it  is  endowed  with  a  voice  through  the  aid  of  phonetic  sculpture 
and  painting. 

In  a  few  words  therefore,  a  perfect  building  may  be  defined  as  one 
that  combines :  — 

1st,  as  Technic  principles  : 

Convenience  for  arrangement  in  plan. 
Proper  distribution  of  materials  in  construction. 
.  2d,  as  Esthetic  principles  of  design  : 

Ornamental  arrangement  combined  with 
Ornamental  construction,  and 
3d  for  Phonetic  adjuncts  : 
Sculpture,  or 

Painting,  employed  as  voices  to  tell  the  story  of  the  building, 
and  explain  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  designed,  or  those 
to  which  it  is  dedicated. 
Besides  these,  however,  which  are  the  principal  theoretic  charac- 
teristics of  architecture,  there  are  several  minor  technical  principles 
which  it  may  be  convenient  to  enumerate  before  proceeding  farther. 
It  may  also  be  well  to  give  such  examples  as  shall  make  what  has  just 
been  indicated  theoretically,  clearer  than  can  be  done  by  the  mere 
enunciation  of  abstract  principles. 

IV.  — Mass. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  element  of  architectural  grandeur  is 
size  —  a  large  edifice  being  always  more  imposing  than  a  small  one  ; 
and  when  the  art  displayed  in  two  buildings  is  equal,  their  effect  is 
almost  in  the  direct  ratio  of  their  dimensions.  In  other  words,  if  one 
temple  or  church  is  twice  or  three  times  as  large  as  another,  it  is  twice 
or  three  times  as  grand  or  as  effective.  The  Temple  of  Theseus  differs 
very  little  except  in  dimensions,  from  the  Parthenon,  and,  except  in 
that  respect,  hardly  differed  at  all  from  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  at  Elis; 
but  because  of  its  smaller  size  it  must  rank  lower  than  the  greater 
examples.  In  our  own  country  many  of  our  smaller  abbeys  or  parish 
churches  display  as  great  beauty  of  design  or  detail  as  our  noblest 
cathedrals,  but,  from  their  dimensions  alone  they  are  insignificant  in 
comparison,  and  the  traveller  passes  them  by,  while  he  stands  awe- 
struck before  the  portals  or  under  the  vault  of  the  larger  edifices. 

The  pyramids  of  Egypt,  the  topes  of  the  Buddhists,  the  mounds 
of  the  Etruscans,  depend  almost  wholly  for  their  effect  on  their  dimen- 
sions.   The  Romans  understood  to  perfection  the  value  of  this  element 


Sect.  Y. 


INTRODUCTION. 


17 


and  used  in  its  most  unsophisticated  simplicity  to  obtain  the  effect 
they  desired.  In  the  Middle  Ages  the  architects  not  only  aspired  to 
the  erection  of  colossal  edifices,  but  they  learnt  how  they  might  greatly 
increase  the  apparent  dimensions  of  a  building  by  a  scientific  disposition 
of  the  parts  and  a  skilful  arrangement  of  ornament,  thereby  making- 
it  look  very  much  larger  than  it  really  was.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  most 
obvious  and  most  certain,  though  it  must  be  confessed  perhaps  the 
most  vulgar,  means  of  obtaining  architectural  grandeur ;  but  a  true  and 
perfect  example  can  never  be  produced  by  dependence  on  this  alone, 
and  it  is  only  when  size  is  combined  with  beauty  of  proportion  and 
elegance  of  ornament  that  perfection  in  architectural  art  is  attained. 

V.  —  Stability. 

Next  to  size  the  most  important  element  is  stability.  By  this  is 
meant,  not  merely  the  strength  required  to  support  the  roof  or  to  resist 
the  various  thrusts  and  pressures,  but  the  excess  of  strength  over 
mere  mechanical  requirement  which  is  necessary  thoroughly  to  satisfy 
the  mind,  and  to  give  to  the  building  a  monumental  character,  with  an 
appearance  that  it  could  resist  the  shocks  of  time  or  the  violence  of 
man  for  ages  yet  to  come. 

No  people  understood  the  value  of  this  so  well  as  the  Egyptians. 
The  form  of  the  Pyramids  is  designed  wholly  with  reference  to  sta- 
bility, and  even  the  Hypostyle  Hall  at  Karnac  excites  admiration  far 
more  by  its  massiveness  and  strength,  and  its  apparent  eternity  of 
duration,  than  by  any  other  element  of  design.  In  the  Hall  all  utili- 
tarian exigencies  and  many  other  obvious  means  of  effect  are  sacrificed 
to  these,  and  with  such  success  that  after  more  than  3000  years'  duration 
still  enough  remains  to  excite  that  admiration  which  even  the  most 
unpoetical  spectators  cannot  withhold  from  its  beauties. 

In  a  more  refined  style  much  of  the  beauty  of  the  Parthenon  arises 
from  this  cause.  The  area  of  each  of  the  pillars  in  the  portico  of  the 
Pantheon  at  Rome  is  under  20  feet,  that  of  those  of  the  Parthenon  is 
over  33  feet,  and,  considering  how  much  taller  the  former  are  than  the 
latter,  it  may  be  said  that  the  pillars  at  Athens  are  twice  as  massive 
as  those  of  the  Roman  temple,  yet  the  latter  have  sufficed  not  only  for 
the  mechanical,  but  for  many  points  of  artistic  stability ;  but  the 
strength  and  solidity  of  the  porticoes  of  the  Parthenon,  without  taking 
into  consideration  its  other  points  of  superiority,  must  always  render 
it  more  beautiful  than  the  other. 

The  massiveness  which  the  Normans  and  other  early  Gothic  builders 
imparted  to  their  edifices  arose  more  from  clumsiness  and  want  of  con- 
structive skill  than  from  design ;  but,  though  arising  from  so  ignoble 
a  cause,  its  effect  is  always  grand,  and  the  rude  Norman  nave  often 
surpasses  in  grandeur  the  airy  and  elegant  choir  which  was  afterwards 

VOL.  L  —  2 


18 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


added  to  it.  In  our  own  country  no  building  is  more  entirely  satis- 
factory than  the  nave  at  Winchester,  where  tlic  width  of  the  pillars 
exceeds  that  of  the  aisles,  and  the  whole  is  Norman  in  outline,  though 
Gothic  in  detail.  On  the  other  hand  no  building  of  its  dimensions 
and  beauty  of  detail  can  well  be  so  unsatisfactory  as  the  choir  at 
Beauvais.  Though  it  has  stood  the  test  of  centuries,  it  looks  so  frail, 
requires  so  many  props  to  keep  it  up,  and  is  so  evidently  an  over- 
strained exercise  of  mechanical  cleverness,  that  though  it  may  excite 
wonder  as  an  architectural  ^oz^r  deforce^  it  never  can  satisfy  the  mind 
of  the  true  artist,  or  please  to  the  same  extent  as  less  ambitious 
examples. 

Even  when  we  descend  to  the  lowest  walks  of  architecture  we  find 
this  principle  prevailing.  It  would  require  an  immense  amount  of 
design  and  good  taste  to  make  the  thin  walls  and  thinner  roof  of  a 
brick  and  slated  cottage  look  as  picturesque  or  so  well  as  one  built 
of  rubble-stone,  or  even  with  mud  walls,  and  a  thatched  roof :  the 
thickness  and  solidity  of  the  one  must  always  be  more  satisfactory 
than  the  apparent  flimsiness  of  the  other.  Here,  as  in  most  cases, 
necessity  controls  the  architect ;  but  when  fettered  by  no  utilitarian 
exigencies,  there  is  no  safer  or  readier  means  of  obtaining  an  effect 
than  this,  and  when  effect  alone  is  sought  it  is  almost  impossible  foi- 
an  architect  to  err  in  giving  too  much  solidity  to  his  building.  Size 
and  stability  are  alone  sufficient  to  produce  grandeur  in  architectural 
design,  and,  where  sublhnity  is  aimed  at,  they  are  the  two  elements 
most  essential  to  its  production,  and  are  indeed  the  two  without  which 
it  cannot  possibly  be  attained. 

VI.  —  Durability. 

As  the  complement  to  stability,  the  length  of  time  during  which 
architectural  objects  are  calculated  to  endure  confers  on  them  an 
impress  of  durability  which  can  hardly  be  attained  by  any  of  the 
sister  arts.  Sculpture  may  endure  as  long,  and  some  of  the  Egyptian 
examples  of  that  art  found  near  the  Pyramids  are  as  old  as  anything 
in  that  country,  but  it  is  not  their  age  that  impresses  us  so  much  as 
the  story  they  have  to  tell.  The  Pyramids,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the 
majesty  of  their  simple  Technic  grandeur,  do  challenge  a  quasi* 
eternity  of  duration  with  a  distinctness  that  is  most  impressive,  and 
which  there,  as  elsewhere,  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  elements  of 
architectural  expression. 

When  Horace  sang — 

*'  Vixere  fortes  ante  Agamemnona 
MuJti,  sed  omnes  illacrimabiles 

Urgentur  ignotique  longa 
Noete,  carent  quia  vate  sacro," 


Sect.  VII. 


INTKODUCTION. 


19 


lie  overlooked  the  fact  that  long  before  Troy  was  dreamt  of,  Egyptian 
kings  had  raised  pyramids  which  endure  to  the  present  day,  and  tlie 
Piiaraohs  of  the  Eighteenth  and  Nineteenth  dynasties  had  filled  the 
valley  of  the  Upper  Nile  with  temples  and  palaces  and  tombs  which  tell 
us  not  only  the  names  of  their  founders,  but  reveal  to  us  their  thoughts 
and  aspirations  with  a  distinctness  that  no  sacred  poet  could  as  well 
convey.  From  that  time  onward  the  architects  liave  covered  the 
world  with  monuments  that  still  remain  on  the  spot  where  the}' 
were  erected,  and  tell  all,  who  are  sufficiently  instructed  to  read  their 
riddles  aright,  what  nations  once  occupied  these  spots,  what  degree 
of  civilization  they  had  reached,  and  how,  in  erecting  these  monuments 
on  which  we  now  gaze,  they  had  attained  that  quasi-immortality  after 
which  they  hankered. 

Sculpture  and  painting,  when  allied  with  architecture,  may  endure 
as  long,  but  their  aim  is  not  to  convey  to  the  mind  the  impression  of 
durability  wdiich  is  so  strongly  felt  in  the  presence  of  the  more  massive 
works  of  architectural  art.  Even  when  ruined  and  in  decay  the  build- 
ings are  almost  equally  impressive,  while  ruined  sculptures  or  paintings 
are  generally  far  from  being  pleasing  objects,  and,  whatever  their  other 
merits  may  be,  certainly  miss  that  impression  obtained  from  the  dura- 
bility of  architectural  objects. 

VII.  —  Materials. 

Another  very  obvious  mode  of  obtaining  architectural  effect  is  by 
the  largeness  or  costliness  of  the  materials  employed.  A  terrace,  or 
even  a  wall,  if  composed  of  large  stones,  is  in  itself  an  object  of  con- 
siderable grandeur,  while  one  of  the  same  lineal  dimensions  and  of 
the  same  design,  if  composed  of  brick  or  rubble,  may  appear  a  very 
contemptible  object. 

Like  all  the  more  obvious  means  of  architectural  effect,  the  Egyp- 
tians seized  on  this  and  carried  it  to  its  utmost  legitimate  extent. 
All  their  buildings,  as  well  as  their  colossi  and  obelisks,  owe  much 
of  their  grandeur  to  the  magnitude  of  the  materials  employed  in  their 
construction.  The  works  called  Cyclopean  found  in  Italy  and  Greece 
have  no  other  element  of  grandeur  than  the  size  of  the  stones  or  rather 
masses  of  rock  which  the  builders  of  that  age  were  in  the  habit  of 
using.  In  Jerusalem  nothing  was  so  much  insisted  upon  by  the  old 
writers,  or  is  so  much  admired  now,  as  the  largeness  of  the  stones 
employed  in  the  building  of  the  Temple  and  its  substructions. 

We  can  well  believe  how  much  value  was  attached  to  this  when 
we  find  that  in  the  neighboring  city  of  Baalbec  stones  were  used  of 
between  60  and  70  ft.  in  length,  weighing  as  much  as  the  tubes  of  the 
Britannia  Bridge,  for  the  mere  bonding  course  of  a  terrace  wall.  Even 
in  a  more  refined  style  of  architecture,  a  pillar,  a  shaft  of  which  is 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


of  a  single  stone,  or  a  lintel  or  architrave  of  one  block,  is  always  a 
grander  and  more  beautiful  object  than  if  composed  of  a  number  of 
smaller  parts.  Among  modern  buildings,  the  poverty-stricken  design 
of  the  church  of  St.  Isaac  at  St.  Petersburg  is  redeemed  by  the  grandeur 
of  its  monolithic  columns,  whilst  the  beautiful  design  of  the  Madeleine 
at  Paris  is  destroyed  by  the  smallness  of  the  materials  in  which  it  is 
expressed.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  arises  from  the  same  feeling 
to  which  massiveness  and  stability  address  themselves.  It  is  the 
expression  of  giant  power  and  the  apparent  eternity  of  duration 
which  they  convey ;  and  in  whatever  form  that  may  be  presented 
to  the  human  mind,  it  always  produces  a  sentiment  tending  towards 
sublimity,  Avhich  is  the  highest  effect  at  which  architecture  or  any 
other  art  can  aim. 

The  Gothic  architects  ignored  this  element  of  grandeur  altogether, 
and  sought  to  replace  it  by  the  display  of  constructive  skill  in  the 
employment  of  the  smaller  materials  they  used,  but  it  is  extremely 
questionable  whether  in  so  doing  they  did  not  miss  one  of  the  most 
obvious  and  most  important  principles  of  architectural  design. 

Besides  these,  value  in  the  mere  material  is  a  great  element  in 
architectural  effect.  We  all,  for  instance,  admire  an  ornament  of  pure 
gold  more  than  one  that  is  only  silver  gilt,  though  few  can  detect  the 
difference.  Persons  Avill  travel  hundreds  of  miles  to  see  a  great 
diamond  or  wonderful  pearl,  who  would  not  go  as  many  yards  to  see 
paste  models  of  them,  though  if  the  two  were  laid  together  on  the 
table  very  few  indeed  could  distinguish  the  real  from  the  counterfeit. 

When  we  come  to  consider  such  buildings  as  the  cathedral  at 
Milan  or  the  Taje  Mehal  at  Agra,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the 
beauty  of  the  material  of  which  they  are  composed  adds  very  much  to 
the  admiration  they  excite.  In  the  latter  case  the  precious  stones 
with  which  the  ornamental  parts  of  the  design  are  inlaid,  convey  an 
imi^ression  of  grandeur  almost  as  directly  as  their  beauty  of  outline. 

It  is,  generally  speaking,  because  of  its  greater  preciousness  that  we 
admire  a  marble  building  more  than  one  of  stone,  though  the  color  of 
the  latter  may  be  really  as  beautiful  and  the  material  at  least  as  durable. 
In  the  same  manner  a  stone  edifice  is  preferred  to  one  of  brick,  and 
brick  to  wood  and  plaster  ;  but  even  these  conditions  may  be  reversed 
by  the  mere  question  of  value.  If,  for  instance,  a  brick  and  a  stone  edifice 
stand  close  together,  the  design  of  both  being  equally  appropriate  to  the 
material  employed,  our  judgment  may  be  reversed  if  the  bricks  are  so 
beautifully  moulded,  or  made  of  such  precious  clay,  or  so  carefully  laid, 
that  the  brick  edifice  costs  twice  as  much  as  the  other ;  in  that  case  we 
should  look  with  more  respect  and  admiration  on  the  artificial  than  on 
the  natural  material.  For  the  same  reason  many  elaborately  carved 
wooden  buildings,  notwithstanding  the  smallness  of  their  parts  and 
their  perishable  nature,  are  more  to  be  admired  than  larger  and 


Sect.  VII. 


INTRODUCTION. 


21 


more  monumental  structures,  and  this  merely  in  consequence  of  the 
evidence  of  labor  and  consequent  cost  that  have  been  bestowed  upon 
them. 

Irrespective  of  these  considerations,  many  building  materials  are 
invaluable  from  their  own  intrinsic  merits.  Granite  is  one  of  the  best 
known,  from  its  hardness  and  durability,  marble  from  the  exquisite 
polish  it  takes,  and  for  its  color,  which  for  internal  decoration  is  a 
property  that  can  hardly  be  over-estimated.  Stone  is  valuable  on 
account  of  the  largeness  of  the  blocks  that  can  be  obtained,  and  be- 
cause it  easily  receives  a  polish  sufficient  for  external  purposes.  Bricks 
are  excellent  for  their  cheapness,  and  the  facility  with  which  they  can 
be  used,  and  they  may  also  be  moulded  into  forms  of  great  elegance, 
so  that  beauty  may  be  easily  attained ;  but  sublimity  is  nearly  impos- 
sible in  brickwork,  without  at  least  such  dimensions  as  have  rarely 
been  accomplished  by  man.  The  smallness  of  the  material  is  such  a 
manifest  incongruity  with  largeness  of  the  parts,  that  even  the  Romans, 
though  they  tried  hard,  could  never  quite  overcome  the  difficulty. 

Plaster  is  another  artificial  material.  Except  in  monumental  erec- 
tions it  is  superior  to  stone  for  internal  purposes,  iand  ahvays  better 
than  brick  from  the  uniformity  and  smoothness  of  its  surface,  the 
facility  with  which  it  is  moulded,  and  its  capability  of  receiving 
painted  or  other  decorations  to  any  extent. 

Wood  should  be  used  externally  only  on  the  smallest  and  least 
monumental  class  of  buildings,  and  even  internally  is  generally  infe- 
rior to  plaster.  It  is  dark  in  color,  liable  to  warp  and  split,  and  com- 
bustible, which  are  all  serious  objections  to  its  use,  except  for  flooring, 
doors,  and  such  purposes  as  it  is  now  generally  applied  to. 

Cast  iron  is  another  material  rarely  brought  into  use,  though  more 
precious  than  any  of  those  above  enumerated,  and  possessing  more 
strength,  though  probably  less  durability.  Where  lightness  combined 
with  strength  is  required,  it  is  invaluable,  but  though  it  can  be 
moulded  into  any  form  of  beauty  that  may  be  designed,  it  has  hardly 
yet  ever  been  so  used  as  to  allow  of  its  architectural  qualities  being 
appreciated. 

All  these  materials  are  nearly  equally  good  when  used  honestly 
each  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  best  adapted ;  they  all  become 
bad  either  when  employed  for  a  purpose  for  which  they  are  not  ap- 
propriate, or  when  one  material  is  substituted  in  the  place  of,  or  to 
imitate  another.  Grandeur  and  sublimity  can  only  be  reached  by  the 
more  durable  and  more  massive  class  of  materials,  but  beauty  and 
elegance  are  attainable  in  all,  and  the  range  of  architectural  design  is 
so  extensive  that  it  is  absurd  to  limit  it  to  one  class,  either  of  natural 
or  of  artificial  materials,  or  to  attempt  to  prescribe  the  use  of  some 
and  to  insist  on  that  of  others,  for  purposes  to  which  they  are  mani- 
festly inapplicable. 


22 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


VIII.  —  Construction. 

Construction  has  been  shown  to  be  the  chief  aim  and  object  of  the 
engineer ;  with  him  it  is  all  in  all,  and  to  construct  scientifically  and 
at  the  same  time  economically  is  the  beginning  and  end  of  his  en- 
deavors. It  is  far  otherwise  with  the  architect.  Construction  ought 
to  be  his  handmaid,  useful  to  assist  him  in  carrying  out  his  design, 
but  never  his  mistress,  controlling  him  in  the  execution  of  that  whicli 
he  would  otherwise  think  expedient.  An  architect  ought  always  to 
allow  himself  such  a  margin  of  strength  that  he  may  disregard  or 
play  with  his  construction,  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  money 
spent  in  obtaining  this  solidity  will  be  more  effective  architecturally 
than  twice  the  amount  expended  on  ornament,  however  elegant  or 
appropriate  that  may  be. 

So  convinced  were  the  Egyptians  and  Greeks  of  this  principle, 
that  they  never  used  any  other  constructive  expedient  than  a  perpen- 
dicular wall  or  pro23,  supporting  a  liorizontal  beam  ;  and  half  the  sat- 
isfactory effect  of  their  buildings  arises  from  their  adhering  to  this 
simple  though  expensive  mode  of  construction.  They  were  perfectly 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  the  arch  and  its  properties,  but  they  knew 
that  its  employment  would  introduce  complexity  and  confusion  into 
their  designs,  and  therefore  they  wisely  rejected  it.  Even  to  .  the 
present  day  the  Hindus  refuse  to  use  the  arch,  though  it  has  long- 
been  employed  in  their  country  by  the  Mahometans.  As  they  quaintly 
express  it,  "An  arch  never  sleeps ;  "  and  it  is  true  that  by  its  thrust 
and  pressure  it  is  always  tending  to  tear  a  building  to  pieces ;  in 
spite  of  all  counterpoises,  whenever  the  smallest  damage  is  done,  it 
hastens  the  ruin  of  a  building,  which,  if  more  simply  constructed, 
might  last  for  ages. 

The  Romans  were  the  first  who  introduced  a  more  complicated 
style.  They  wanted  larger  and  more  complex  buildings  than  had 
been  before  required,  and  they  employed  brick  to  a  great  extent,  even 
in  their  temples  and  most  monumental  buildings.  They  obtained 
both  space  and  variety  by  these  means,  with  comparatively  little 
trouble  or  expense ;  but  we  miss  in  all  their  works  that  repose  and 
harmony  which  is  the  great  charm  that  pervades  the  buildings  of 
their  predecessors. 

The  Gothic  architects  went  even  beyond  the  Romans  in  this 
respect.  They  prided  themselves  on  their  constructive  skill,  and 
paraded  it  on  all  occasions,  and  often  to  an  extent  very  destructive 
of  true  architectural  design.  The  lower  story  of  a  French  cathedral 
is  generally  very  satisfactory;  the  walls  are  thick  and  solid,  and  the 
buttresses,  when  not  choked  up  with  chapels,  just  sufficient  for  shadow 
and  relief;  but  the  architects  of  that  country  were  seized  witli  a  mania 


Sect.  VIII. 


INTRODUCTION. 


23 


for  clerestories  of  gigantic  height,  which  should  appear  internally 
mere  walls  of  painted  glass  divided  by  mullions.  This  could  only  be 
effected  either  by  encumbering  the  floor  of  the  church  with  piers  of 
inconvenient  thickness  or  by  a  system  of  buttressing  outside.  The 
latter  was  the  expedient  adopted ;  but  notwithstanding  the  ingenuity 
with  which  it  was  carried  out,  and  the  elegance  of  many  of  the  forms 
and  ornaments  used,  it  was  singularly  destructive  of  true  architectural 
effect.  It  not  only  produces  confusion  of  outline  and  a  total  want  of 
repose,  but  it  is  eminently  suggestive  of  weakness,  and  one  cannot 
help  feeling  that  if  one  of  these  props  were  removed,  the  whole  would 
tumble  down  like  a  house  of  cards. 

This  was  hardly  ever  the  case  in  England  :  the  less  ambitious 
dimensions  employed  in  this  country  enabled  the  architects  to  dis- 
pense in  a  great  measure  with  these  adjuncts,  and  when  flying  but- 
tresses are  used,  they  look  more  as  if  employed  to  suggest  the  idea  of 
perfect  security  than  as  necessary  to  stability.  Owing  to  this  cause 
the  French  have  never  been  able  to  construct  a  satisfactory  vault :  ui 
consequence  of  the  weakness  of  their  supports,  they  were  forced  to 
stilt,  twist,  and  dome  them  to  a  most  un pleasing  extent,  and  to  attend 
to  constructive  instead  of  artistic  necessities.  With  the  English 
architects  this  never  was  the  case ;  they  were  always  able  to  design 
their  vaults  in  such  forms  as  they  thought  would  be  most  beautiful 
artistically,  and,  owing  to  the  greater  solidity  of  their  supports,  to 
carry  them  out  as  at  first  design ed.^ 

It  was  left  for  the  Germans  to  carry  this  system  to  its  acme  of 
absurdity.  Half  the  merit  of  the  old  Round  arched  Gothic  cathe- 
drals on  the  Rhine  consists  in  their  solidity  and  the  repose  they  dis- 
play in  every  part.  Their  walls  and  other  essential  parts  are  always 
in  themselves  suflicient  to  support  the  roofs  and  vaults,  and  no  construct- 
ive contrivance  is  seen  anywhere ;  but  when  the  Germans  adopted 
the  pointed  style,  their  builders — they  can  hardly  be  called  architects  — 
seemed  to  think  that  the  whole  art  consisted  in  supporting  the  widest 
possible  vaults  on  the  thinnest  possible  i)illars,  and  in  constructing  the 
tallest  windows  with  the  most  attenuated  mullions.  The  consequence 
is,  that  though  their  constructive  skill  still  excites  the  wonder  of  the 
mason  or  the  engineer,  the  artist  or  the  architect  turns  from  the  cold 
vaults  and  lean  piers  of  their  later  cathedrals  with  a  painful  feeling  of 
unsatisfied  expectation,  and  wonders  why  such  dimensions  and  .such 
details  should  produce  a  result  so  utterly  unsatisfactory. 

So  many  circumstances  require  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  that 


1  It  may  be  suggested  that  the  glory 
of  a  French  clerestory  filled  with  stained 
glass  made  up  for  all  these  defects,  and 
it  may  be  true  that  it  did  so ;  but  in  that 
case  the  architecture  was  sacrificed  to 


the  sister  art  of  painting,  and  is  not  the 
less  bad  in  itself  because  it  enabled  that 
art  to  display  its  charms  with  so  much 
brilliancy. 


24 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Fart  I. 


it  is  impossible  to  prescribe  any  general  rules  in  such  a  subject  as  this, 
but  the  following  table  will  explain  to  a  certain  extent  the  ratio  of  the 
area  to  the  points  of  support  in  sixteen  of  the  principal  buildings  of 


Area. 

Solids. 

Ratio 

Nearest 

in  Decimals. 

Vulgar  Fractions. 

Feet. 

Feet. 

'±0,0o<!5 

une-naii. 

St.  PBter's,  RoniG 

227  000 

5Q  308 

.261 

^  ^  n  *i  -  f  11 V  t  Ti 

1113  lU  til  lill. 

Spires  Ca.tlicd.rEil 

56,737 

12  076 

.216 

Vyllc~lll  til. 

Sta..  Mfiria,  KlorencB 

84  802 

17  056 

901 

Onp  fifth 
v>'llc-lll  til. 

Ul  ,(J<7V/ 

.  lOl 

One-sixth. 

KJlJm    A.  cVUlX   vjj    -M^KJll.y.HJlL     •  • 

84,311 

14,311 

171 

vylltJ-alX  til. 

OLC.    vTCllC  V  IC  V  C  J   -L  dl  lo  • 

1  <^A 
•  lot 

One-sixth. 

T^QTf llPTl AH       A  tllAHG 

'±,TtOU 

v/llc-hc  V  ClltLI. 

Chartres  Cathedral  .  . 

68,261 

8,886 

.130 

One-eighth. 

Sahsbury  Cathedral .  . 

55,853 

7,012 

.125 

One-eighth. 

Paris,  Notre  Dame  .  . 

64,108 

7,852 

•    .  .122 

One-eighth. 

Milan  Cathedral  .    .  . 

108,277 

11,601 

.107 

One-tenth. 

Cologne  Cathedral  .  . 

91,464 

9,554 

.104 

One-tenth. 

York  Cathedral  .    .  . 

72,860 

7,376 

.101 

One-tenth. 

Temple  of  Peace    .  . 

68,000 

6,928 

.101 

One-tenth. 

St.  Ouen,  Eouen.    .  . 

47,107 

4,637 

.097 

One-tenth. 

the  world. ^  As  far  as  it  goes,  it  tends  to  prove  that  the  satisfactory 
arcliitectural  effect  of  a  building  is  nearly  in  the  inverse  ratio  to  the 
mechanical  cleverness  displayed  in  its  construction. 

At  the  head  of  the  list  stands  the  Hypostyle  Hall,  and  next  to  it 
practically  is  the  Parthenon,  which  being  the  only  wooden-roofed 
building  in  the  list,  its  ratio  of  support  in  proportion  to  the  work 
required  is  nearly  as  great  as  that  of  the  Temple  at  Karnac.  Spires 
only  wants  better  details  to  be  one  of  the  grandest  edifices  in  Europe, 
and  Bourges,  Paris,  Chartres,  and  Salisbury  are  among  the  most  sat- 
isfactory Gothic  cathedrals  we  possess.  St.  Ouen,  notwithstanding  all 
its  beauty  of  detail  and  design,  fails  in  this  one  point,  and  is  certainly 
deficient  in  solidity.  Cologne  and  Milan  would  both  be  very  much 
improved  by  greater  massiveness :  at  York  the  lightness  of  the  sup- 
ports is  carried  so  far  that  it  never  can  be  completed  with  the  vaulted 
roof  originally  designed,  for  the  nave  at  least ;  and  the  Temple  of 
Peace  is  so  clever  a  piece  of  engineering,  that  it  must  always  have 
been  a  failure  as  an  architectural  design. 


1  The  numbers  in  the  table  must  be  1  4,  6,  and  7,  which  are  borrowed  from 
taken  only  as  approximative,  except  2,  |  Gwilt's  ''Public  Buildings  of  London." 


Sect.  IX. 


INTRODUCTION. 


25 


The  four  great  Renaissance  cathedrals,  at  Rome,  Florence,  London, 
and  Paris,  enumerated  in  this  list,  have  quite  sufficient  strength  for 
architectural  effect,  but  the  value  of  this  is  lost  from  concealed 
construction,  and  because  the  supports  are  generally  grouped  into  a 
few  great  masses,  the  dimensions  of  which  cannot  be  estimated  by  the 
eye.  A  Gothic  architect  would  have  divided  these  masses  into  twice 
or  three  times  the  number  of  piers  used  in  these  churches,  and  by 
employing  ornament  designed  to  display  and  accentuate  the  con- 
struction, would  have  rendered  these  buildings  far  more  satisfactory 
than  they  are. 

In  this  respect  the  great  art  of  the  architect  consists  in  obtaining 
the  greatest  j^ossible  amount  of  unencumbered  space  internally,  con- 
sistent in  the  first  place  with  the  requisite  amount  of  permanent 
mechanical  stability,  and  next  with  such  an  appearance  of  superfluity 
of  strength  as  shall  satisfy  the  mind  that  the  building  is  perfectly 
secure  and  calculated  to  last  for  ages. 

IX.  —  Forms. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  lay  down  any  general  rules  as  to  the 
forms  best  adapted  to  architectural  purposes,  as  the  value  of  a  form 
in  architecture  depends  wholly  on  the  position  in  which  it  is  placed 
and  the  use  to  which  it  is  applied.    There  is  in  consequence  no  pre- 
scribed form,  however  ugly  it  may  appear  at  present,  that  may  not 
one  day  be  found  to  be  the  very  best  for  a  given  purpose  ;  and,  in  like 
manner  none  of  those  most  admired  which  may  not  become  absolutely 
offensive  when  used  in  a  manner  for  which  tliey  are  unsuited.  In 
itself  no  simple  form  seems  to  have  any  inherent  value  of  its  own. 
and  it  is  only  by  combination  of  one  with  another  that  they  become- 
effective.    If,  for  instance,  we  take  a  series  of  twenty  or  thirty  figures,, 
placing  a  cube  at  one  end  as  the  most  solid  of  angular  and  a  sphere 
at  the  other  as  the  most  perfect  of  round  shapes,  it  would  be  easy  to 
cut  off  the  angles  of  the  cube  in  sucessive  gradations  till  it  became  a 
polygon  of  so  many  sides  as  to  be  nearly  curvilinear.    On  the  other 
hand  by  modifying  the  sphere  through  all  the  gradations  of  conic 
sections,  it  might  meet  the  other  series  in  the  centre  without  there 
being  any  abrupt  distinction  between  them.    Such  a  series  might  be 
compared  to  the  notes  of  a  piano.    We  cannot  say  that  any  one  of  the 
bass  or  treble  notes  is  in  itself  more  beautiful  than  the  others.    It  is  only 
by  a  combination  of  several  notes  that  harmony  is  produced,  and  gentle 
or  brilliant  melodies  by  their  fading  into  one  another,  or  by  strongly 
marked  contrasts.    So  it  is  with  forms  :  the  square  and  angular  are 
expressive  of  strength  and  power ;  curves  of  softness  and  elegance ; 
and  beauty  is  prodi^ced  by  effective  combination  of  the  right-lined  with 
the  curvilinear.    It  is  always  thus  in  nature.    Rocks  and  all  the  harder 


26 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTUPvE. 


Paut  I. 


substances  are  rough  and  angular,  and  marked  by  strong  contrasts  and 
deep  lines.  Among  trees,  the  oak  is  rugged,  and  its  branches  are 
at  right  angles  to  its  stem,  or  to  one  another.  The  lines  of  the  willow 
are  rounded  and  flowing.  The  forms  of  children  and  women  are  round 
and  full,  and  free  from  violent  contrasts ;  those  of  men  are  abrupt, 
hard  and  angular  in  proportion  to  the  vigor  and  strength  of  their 
frame. 

In  consequence  of  these  j^roperties,  as  a  general  rule  the  square  or 
angular  parts  ought  always  to  be  placed  below,  where  strength  is 
wanted,  and  the  rounded  above.  If,  for  instance,  a  tower  is  to  be  built 
the  lower  story  should  not  only  be  square,  but  should  be  marked  by 
buttresses  or  other  strong  lines,  and  the  masonry  rusticated,  so  as  to 
conv^ey  even  a  greater  appearance  of  strength.  Above  this,  if  the 
square  form  is  still  retained,  it  may  be  with  more  elegance  and  less 
accentuation.  The  form  may  then  change  to  an  octagon,  that  to  a 
l)olygon  of  sixteen  sides,  and  then  be  surmounted  by  a  circular  form 
of  any  sort.  These  conditions  are  not  absolute,  but  the  reverse 
arrangement  would  be  manifestly  absurd.  A  tower  with  a  circular 
base  and  a  square  upper  story  is  what  almost  no  art  could  render 
tolerable,  while  the  other  pleases  by  its  innate  fitness  without  any 
extraordinary  effort  of  design. 

On  the  other  hand,  round  ])illars  are  more  pleasing  as  supports 
for  a  square  architrave,  not  so  much  from  any  inherent  fitness  for 
the  purpose  as  from  the  effect  of  contrast,  and  flat  friezes  are  preferable 
to  curved  ones  of  the  late  Roman  styles  from  the  same  cause.  The 
angular  mouldings  introduced  among  the  circular  shafts  of  a  Gothic 
coupled  pillar,  add  immensely  to  the  brilliancy  of  effect.  Where 
everything  is  square  and  rugged,  as  in  a  Druidical  trilithon,  the  effect 
may  be  sublime,  but  it  cannot  be  elegant ;  where  everything  is  rounded, 
as  in  the  Chora'gic  Monument  of  Lysicrates,  the  perfection  of  elegance 
may  be  attained,  but  never  sublimity.  Perfection,  as  usual,  lies 
between  these  extremes. 

X.  —  Proportion. 

The  properties  above  enumerated  may  be  characterized  as  the 
mechanical  principles  of  design.  Size,  stability,  construction,  material, 
and  many  such,  are  elements  at  the  command  of  the  engineer  or 
mason,  as  well  as  of  the  architect,  and  a  building  remarkable  for 
these  properties  only,  cannot  be  said  to  rise  above  the  lowest  grade 
of  architectural  excellence.  They  are  invaluable  adjuncts  in  the 
hands  of  the  true  artist,  but  ought  never  to  be  the  principal  elements 
of  design. 

After  these  the  two  most  important  resources  at  the  command  of 
the  architect  are  Proportion  and  Ornament ;  the  former  enabling  him 


Sect.  X. 


INTRODUCTION. 


27 


to  construct  ornamentally,  the  latter  to  ornament  his  construction  ;  both 
require  knowledge  and  thought,  andean  only  be  properly  applied  by  one 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  true  principles  of  architectural  design. 

As  proportion,  to  be  good,  must  be  modified  by  every  varying 
exigence  of  a  design,  it  is  of  course  impossible  to  lay  down  any 
general  rules  which  sliall  hold  good  in  all  cases:  but  a  few  of  its 
principles  are  obvious  enough,  and  can  be  defined  so  as  to  enable  us  to 
judge  how  far  they  have  been  successfully  carried  out  in  the  various 
buildings  enumerated  in  the  following  pages. 

To  take  first  the  simplest  form  of  the  proposition,  let  us  suppose  a 
room  built,  which  shall  be  an  exact  cube — of  say  20  feet  each  way  — 
such  a  proportion  must  be  bad  and  inartistic;  and  besides,  the  height 
is  too  great  for  the  other  dimensions,  apparently  because  it  is  impos- 
sible to  get  far  enough  away  to  embrace  the  whole  wall  at  one  view, 
or  to  see  the  s])ringing  of  the  roof,  without  throwing  the  head  back 
and  looking  upwards.  If  the  height  w^ere  exaggerated  to  thirty  or 
forty  feet,  the  disproportion  would  be  so  striking,  that  no  art  could 
render  it  agreeable.  As  a  general  rule,  a  room  square  in  plan  is  never 
pleasing.  It  is  always  better  that  one  side  should  be  longer  than  the 
other,  so  as  to  give  a  little  variety  to  the  design.  Once  and  a  half  the 
width  has  often  been  recommended,  and  with  every  increase  of  length 
an  increase  of  height  is  not  only  allowable,  but  indispensable.  Some 
such  rule  as  the  followino;  seems  to  meet  most  cases  :  "  Tlie  height  of  a 
room  ought  to  be  equal  to  half  its  width,  plus  the  square  root  of  its 
length."  Thus  a  room  20  feet  square  ought  to  be  between  14  and  15 
feet  high  ;  if  its  length  be  increased  to  40  feet,  its  height  must  be  at 
least  16^ ;  if  100  certainly  not  less  than  20.  If  we  proceed  further, 
and  make  the  height  actually  exceed  the  width,  the  effect  is  that  of 
making  it  look  narrow.  As  a  general  rule,  and  especially  in  all 
extreme  cases,  by  adding  to  one  dimension,  we  take  away  in  appear- 
ance from  the  others.  Thus  if  we  take  a  room  20  feet  wide  and  30 
or  40  feet  in  height,  we  make  it  narrow  ;  if  40  wide  and  20  high,  we 
make  a  low  room.  By  increasing  the  length  we  diminish  the  other 
two  dimensions. 

This,  however,  is  merely  speaking  of  plain  rooms  with  plain  walls, 
and  an  architect  may  be  forced  to  construct  rooms  of  all  sorts  of 
unpleasing  dimensions,  but  it  is  here  that  his  art  comes  to  his  aid, 
and  he  must  be  very  little  of  an  artist  if  he  cannot  conceal,  even 
when  unable  entirely  to  counteract,  the  defects  of  his  dimensions.  A 
room,  for  instance,  that  is  a  perfect  cube  of  20  feet  may  be  made  to 
look  as  low  as  one  only  15  feet  high,  by  using  a  strongly  marked 
horizontal  decoration,  by  breaking  the  wall  into  different  heights,  by 
marking  strongly  the  horizontal  proportions,  and  obliterating  as  far 
as  possible  all  vertical  lines.  The  reverse  process  will  make  a  room 
only  10  feet  high  look  as  lofty  as  one  of  15. 


28 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


Even  the  same  wall-paper  (if  of  strongly  marked  lines)  if  pasted 
on  the  sides  of  two  rooms  exactly  similar  in  dimensions,  but  with  the 
lines  vertical  in  the  one  case,  in  the  other  horizontal,  will  alter  the 
apparent  dimensions  of  them  by  several  feet.  If  a  room  is  too  high, 
it  is  easy  to  correct  this  by  carrying  a  bold  cornice  to  the  height 
required,  and  stopping  there  the  vertical  lines  of  the  wall,  and  above 
this  coving  the  roof,  or  using  some  device  which  shall  mark  a  distinc- 
tion from  the  walls,  and  the  defect  may  become  a  beauty.  In  like 
manner,  if  a  room  is  too  long  for  its  otlier  dimensions,  this  is  easily 
remedied  either  by  breaks  in  the  walls  where  these  can  be  obtained, 
or  by  screens  of  columns  across  its  width,  or  by  only  breaking  the 
height  of  the  roof.  Anything  which  will  divide  the  length  into 
compartments  will  effect  this.  The  width,  if  in  excess,  is  easily 
remedied  by  dividing  it,  as  the  Gotliic  architects  did,  into  aisles. 
Thus  a  room  50  feet  wide  and  30  high,  may  easily  be  restored  to 
proportion  by  cutting  off  10  or  12  feet  on  each  side,  and  lowering 
the  roofs  of  the  side  compartments,  to  say  20  feet.  If  great  stability 
is  not  required,  this  can  be  done  without  encumbering  the  floor  with 
many  points  of  support.  The  greater  tlie  number  used  the  more  easily 
the  effect  is  obtained,  but  it  can  be  done  almost  without  them. 

Externally  it  is  easier  to  remedy  defects  of  proportion  than  it  is 
internally.  It  is  easier  than  on  the  inside  to  increase  the  apparent 
height  by  strongly  marked  vertical  lines,  or  to  bring  it  down  by  the 
employment  of  a  horizontal  decoration.  Turning,  for  instance,  to  the 
diagram  No.  2  (page  13)  :  if  the  two  divisions  c  and  d  were  on  oppo- 
site sides  of  a  street,  and  not  in  immediate  juxtaposition,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  make  any  one  believe  that  c  was  not  taller  than  d,  and  that 
the  windows  in  the  latter  were  not  farther  apart  and  more  squat  than 
those  in  the  first  division ;  and  the  effect  might  easily  be  increased. 

If  the  length  of  a  building  is  too  great,  this  is  easily  remedied  by 
projections,  or  by  breaking  up  the  length  into  square  divisions.  Thus, 
A  A  is  a  long  building,  but  b  b  is  a  square  one,  or  practically  (owing  to 
the  perspective)  less  than  a  square  in  length,  in 
^  any  direction  at  right  angles  to  the  line  of 
vision;  or,  in  other  words,  to  a  spectator  at  a' 
the  building  would  look  as  if  shorter  in  the 
direction  of  b  b  than  in  that  of  a  a,  owing  to 
the  largeness  and  importance  of  the  jiart 
^  nearest  the  eye.  If  100  feet  in  length  by 
50  feet  high  is  a  pleasing  dimension  for  a 
certain  design,  and  it  is  required  that  the 
building  should  be  500  feet  long,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  break  it  into  five  parts,  and  throw 
three  back  and  two  forward,  or  the  contrary,  and  the  proportion 
becomes  as  before. 


Sect.  X. 


INTRODUCTION. 


21) 


The  Egyptians  hardly  studied  the  science  of  proportion  at  all ; 
they  gained  their  effects  by  simpler  and  more  obvious  means.  The 
Greeks  were  masters  in  this  as  in  everything  else,  but  they  used  the 
resources  of  the  art  with  extreme  sobriety  —  externally  at  least  — 
dreading  to  disturb  that  simplicity  which  is  so  essential  to  sublimity 
in  architecture.  But  internally,  where  sublimity  was  not  attainable 
with  the  dimensions  they  employed,  they  divided  the  cells  of  their 
temples  into  three  aisles,  and  the  height  into  two,  by  placing  two 
ranges  of  columns  one  above  the  other.  By  these  means  they  were 
enabled  to  use  such  a  number  of  small  parts  as  to  increase  the  appa- 
rent size  most  considerably,  and  at  the  same  time  to  give  greater 
apparent  magnitude  to  the  statue,  which  was  the  principal  object  for 
which  the  temple  was  erected. 

The  Romans  do  not  seem  to  have  troubled  themselves  with  the 
science  of  proportion  in  the  design  of  their  buildings,  though  nothing- 
can  well  be  more  exquisite  than  the  harmony  that  exists  between  the 
parts  in  their  orders,  and  generally  in  their  details.  During  the 
Middle  Ages,  however,  we  find,  from  first  to  last,  the  most  earnest 
attention  paid  to  it,  and  half  the  beauty  of  the  buildings  of  that  age 
is  owing  to  the  successful  results  to  which  the  architects  carried  their 
experiments  in  balancing  the  parts  of  their  structures  the  one  against 
the  other,  so  as  to  produce  that  harmony  we  so  much  admire  in 
them. 

The  first  great  invention  of  the  Gothic  architects  (though  of  Greek 
origin)  was  that  of  dividing  the  breadth  of  the  building  internally  into 
three  aisles,  and  making  the  central  one  higher  and 
wider  than  those  on  each  side.  By  this  means  height 
and  length  were  obtained  at  the  expense  of  width:  this 
latter,  however,  is  never  a  valuable  property  artistically, 
though  it  may  be  indispensable  for  the  utilitarian  exi- 
gencies of  the  building.  They  next  sought  to  increase 
still  further  the  height  of  the  central  aisle  by  dividing 
its  sides  into  three  equal  portions  which  by  contrast 
added  very  much  to  the  effect ;  but  the  monotony  of 
this  arrangement  was  soon  apparent :  besides,  it  was 
perceived  that  the  side  aisles  were  so  low  as  not  to  come 
into  direct  comparison  with  the  central  nave.  To 
remedy  this  they  gradually  increased  its  dimensions, 
and  at  last  hit  on  something  very  like  the  following 
proportions.  They  made  the  height  of  the  side  aisle 
half  that  of  the  central  (the  width  being  also  in  the 
same  proportion) ;  the  remaining  portions  they  divided 
into  three,  making  the  triforium  one-third,  the  clerestory  ^ 
two-thirds  of  the  whole.  Thus  the  three  divisions  are 
in  the  proportions  of  1,  2,  and  3,  each  giving  value  to  the  other,  and 


30 


HISTORY  OF  AIICHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


the  whole  addmg  very  considerably  to  all  the  apparent  dimensions  of 
the  interior.  It  would  have  been  easy  to  have  carried  tlie  system 
further,  and,  by  increasing  the  number  of  the  pillars  longitudinally 
and  the  number  of  divisions  vertically,  to  have  added  considerably 
to  even  this  appearance  of  size  ;  but  it  would  then  have  been  at  tlie 
expense  of  simplicity  and  grandeur :  and  though  the  building  might 
have  looked  larger,  the  beauty  of  the  design  would  have  been 
destroyed. 

One  of  the  most  striking  exemplifications  of  the  perfection  of  the 
Gothic  architects  in  this  department  of  their  art  is  shown  in  their 
employment  of  towers  and  spires.  As  a  general  rule,  placing  a  tall 
building  in  juxtaposition  with  a  low  one  exaggerates  the  height  of 
the  one  and  the  lowness  of  the  other ;  and  as  it  was  by  no  means  the 
object  of  the  architects  to  sacrifice  their  churclies  for  their  towers,  it 
required  all  their  art  to  raise  noble  spires  without  doing  this.  In 
the  best  designs  they  effected  it  by  bold  buttresses  below,  and  the 
moment  the  tower  got  free  of  the  building,  by  changing  it  to  an 
octagon,  and  cutting  it  up  by  pinnacles,  and  lastly  by  changing  its 
form  into  that  of  a  spire,  using  generally  smaller  i)arts  than  are  found 
in  the  church.  By  these  devices  they  i)reA'ented  the  s])ire  from  com- 
peting in  any  way  with  the  church.  On  the  contrary,  a  spire  or 
group  of  spires  gave  dignity  and  height  to  the  whole  design,  without 
deducting  from  any  of  its  dimensions. 

The  city  of  Paris  contains  an  instructive  exemplification  of  these 
doctrines  —  the  fa9ade  of  the  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  (exclusive  of 
the  upper  story  of  the  towers),  and  the  Arc  de  I'fitoile  beiiig  two 
buildings  of  exactly  the  same  dimensions ;  yet  any  one  who  is  not 
aware  of  this  fact  would  certainly  estimate  the  dimensions  of  the 
cathedral  as  at  least  a  third,  if  not  a  half,  in  excess  of  the  other. 
It  may  be  said  that  the  arch  gains  in  sublimity  and  grandeur  what  it 
loses  in  apparent  dimensions  by  the  simplicity  of  its  parts.  The 
fa9ade  of  the  cathedral,  though  far  from  one  of  the  best  in  France,  is 
by  no  means  deficient  in  grandeur ;  and  had  it  been  as  free  from  the 
trammels  of  utilitarianism  as  the  arch,  might  easily  have  been  made 
as  simple  and  as  grand  without  losing  its  apparent  size.  In  the  other 
case,  by  employing  in  the  arch  the  principles  which  the  Gotliic 
architects  elaborated  with  such  pains,  the  apparent  dimensions  might 
have  been  increased  without  detracting  from  its  solidity,  and  it 
might  thus  have  been  rendered  one  of  the  sublimest  buildings  in 
the  world. 

The  interior  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  is  an  example  of  the  neglect  of 
these  principles.  Its  great  nave  is  divided  into  only  four  bays,  and 
the  proportions  and  ornaments  of  these,  borrowed  generally  from 
external  architecture,  are  so  gigantic,  that  it  is  difficult  to  realize 
the  true  dimensions  of  the  church,  except  by  the  study  of  the  plan ; 


Sect.  XL 


INTRODUCTION. 


31 


and  is  it  not  too  much  to  assert,  that  had  a  cathedral  of  these 
dimensions  been  built  in  the  true  Gothic  style,  during  the  IStli  or 
14th  centu.y,  it  would  have  appeared  as  if  from  one-third  to  one-half 
larger,  and  might  have  been  the  most  sublime,  whereas  St.  Peter's  is 
now  only  the  largest  temple  ever  erecterl. 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  exam})les  to  show  to  what  joerfection 
the  science  of  proportion  was  carried  by  the  experimental  processes 
above  described  during  the  existence  of  the  true  styles  of  architecture, 
and  how  satisfactory  the  result  is,  even  upon  those  who  are  not  aware 
of  the  cause ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  how  miserable  are  the  failures 
that  result  either  from  the  ignorance  or  neglect  of  its  rules.  Enough, 
it  is  hoped,  has  been  said  to  show  that  not  only  are  the  apparent 
])roportions  of  a  building  very  much  under  the  control  of  an  architect 
independent  of  its  lineal  dimensions,  but  also  that  he  has  it  in  his 
power  so  to  proportion  every  part  as  to  give  value  to  all  those  around 
it,  thus  producing  that  harmony  which  in  architecture,  as  well  as  in 
music  or  in  painting,  is  the  very  essence  of  a  true  or  satisfactory 
utterance. 

XI.  —  Carved  Ornament. 

Architectural  ornament  is  of  two  kinds,  constriictive  and  decorative. 
By  the  former  is  meant  all  those  contrivances,  such  as  capitals,  brackets, 
vaulting  shafts,  and  the  like,  which  serve  to  explain  or  give  expression 
to  the  construction  ;  by  the  latter,  sucli  as  mouldings,  frets,  foliage,  etc., 
which  give  grace  and  life  either  to  the  actual  constructive  forms,  or  to 
the  constructive  decoration. 

In  mere  building  or  engineering,  the  construction  being  all  in  all, 
it  is  left  to  tell  its  own  tale  in  its  own  prosaic  nakedness  ;  but  in  true 
architecture  construction  is  always  subordinate,  and  as  architectural 
buildings  ought  always  to  possess  an  excess  of  strength  it  need  not 
show  itself  unless  desired;  but  even  in  an  artistic  point  of  view  it 
always  is  expedient  to  express  it.  The  vault,  for  instance,  of  a 
Gothic  cathedral  might  just  as  easily  spring  from  a  bracket  or  a 
corbel  as  from  a  shaft,  and  in  early  experiments  this  was  often  tried ; 
but  the  effect  was  unsatisfactory,  and  a  vaulting  shaft  was  carried 
down  first  to  the  capital  of  the  pillar,  and  afterwards  to  the  floor : 
by  this  means  the  eye  was  satisfied,  the  thin  reed-like  shafts  being- 
sufficient  to  explain  that  the  vault  rested  on  the  solid  ground,  and 
an  apparent  propriety  and  stability  were  given  to  the  whole.  These 
shafts  not  being  necessary  constructively,  the  artist  could  make  them 
of  any  form  or  size  he  thought  most  proper,  and  consequently,  instead 
of  one  he  generally  used  three  small  shafts  tied  together  at  various 
intervals.  Afterwards  merely  a  group  of  graceful  mouldings  was 
employed,  which  satisfied   not  onlv  the  exigencies  of  ornamental 


32 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I 


construction,  but  became  a  real  and  essential  decorative  feature  of  the 
building. 

In  like  manner  it  was  good  architecture  to  use  flying  buttresses, 
even  where  they  were  not  essential  to  stability.  They  explained  ex- 
ternally that  the  building  was  vaulted,  and  that  its  thrusts  were 
abutted  and  stability  secured.  The  mistake  in  their  employment  was 
where  tliey  became  so  essential  to  security,  that  the  constructive 
necessities  controlled  the  artistic  propriety  of  the  design,  and  the 
architect  found  himself  compelled  to  employ  either  a  greater  number, 
or  buttresses  of  greater  strength  than  he  would  have  desired  had  he 
been  able  to  dispense  with  them. 

The  architecture  of  the  Greeks  was  so  simple,  that  they  required 
few  artifices  to  explain  their  construction  ;  but  in  their  triglyphs, 
their  mutules,  the  form  of  their  cornices  and  other  devices,  they  took 
pains  to  explain,  not  only  that  these  parts  had  originally  been  of  wood 
but  that  the  temple  still  retained  its  wooden  roof.  Had  they  ever 
adopted  a  vault,  tliey  would  have  employed  a  totally  different  system 
of  decoration.  Having  no  constructive  use  whatever,  these  parts  were 
wholly  under  tlie  control  of  the  architects,  and  they  consequently 
became  the  beautiful  things  we  now  so  much  admire. 

With  their  more  complicated  style  the  Romans  introduced  many 
new  modes  of  constructive  decoration.  They  were  the  first  to  em- 
ploy vaulting  shafts.  In  all  the  great  halls  of  their  Baths,  or  of  their 
vaulted  Basilicas,  they  applied  a  Corinthian  pillar  as  a  vaulting  shaft 
to  the  front  of  the  pier  from  which  the  arch  appears  to  spring,  though 
the  latter  really  supported  the  vault.  All  the  pillars  have  now  been 
removed,  but  without  at  all  interfering  with  the  stability  of  the 
vaults  ;  they  were  mere  decorative  features  to  explain  the  construction, 
but  indispensable  for  that  purpose.  The  Romans  also  suggested 
most  of  the  other  decorative  inventions  of  the  Middle  Ages,  but  their 
architecture  never  reached  beyond  the  stage  of  transition.  It  was 
left  for  the  Gothic  architects  freely  to  elaborate  this  mode  of  archi- 
tectural effect,  and  they  carried  it  to  an  extent  never  dreamt  of  before; 
but  it  is  to  this  that  their  buildings  owe  at  least  half  the  beauty  they 
possess. 

The  same  system  of  course  applies  to  dwelling-houses,  and  to  the 
meanest  objects  of  architectural  art.  The  string-course  that  marks 
externally  the  floor-line  of  the  different  stories  is  as  legitimate  and 
indispensable  an  ornament  as  a  vaulting  shaft,  and  it  would  also  be 
well  that  the  windows  should  be  grouped  so  as  to  indicate  the  size  of 
the  rooms,  and  at  least  a  plain  space  left  where  a  partition  wall  abuts, 
or  better  still  a  pilaster  or  buttress,  or  line  of  some  sort,  ought  to  mark 
externally  that  feature  of  internal  construction. 

The  cornice  is  as  indispensable  a  termination  of  the  wall  as  the 
capital  is  of  a  pillar ;  and  suggests  not  only  an  appropriate  support  for 


Sect.  XI. 


INTRODUCTION. 


33 


the  roof,  but  eaves  to  throw  the  rain  off  the  wall.  The  same  is  true 
with  regard  to  pediments  or  caps  over  windows :  they  suggest  a 
means  of  protecting  an  opening  from  the  wet;  and  porches  over 
doorways  are  equally  obvious  contrivances.  Everything,  in  short, 
which  is  actually  constructive,  or  which  suggests  what  was  or  may  be 
a  constructive  expedient,  is  a  legitimate  object  of  decoration,  and 
affords  the  architect  unlimited  scope  for  the  display  of  taste  and  skill, 
without  going  out  of  his  way  to  seek  it. 

The  difficulty  in  applying  ornaments  borrowed  from  other  styles 
is,  that  although  they  all  suggest  construction,  it  is  not  the  construc- 
tion of  the  buildings  to  which  they  are  applied.  To  use  Pugin's 
clever  antithesis,  "they  are  constructed  ornament,  not  ornamented 
construction,"  and  as  such  can  never  satisfy  the  mind.  However 
beautiful  in  themselves,  they  are  out  of  place,  there  is  no  real  or  ap- 
parent use  for  their  being  there  ;  and,  in  an  art  so  essentially  founded 
on  utilitarian  principles  and  common  sense  as  architecture  is,  any 
offence  against  constructive  propriety  is  utterly  intolerable. 

The  other  class,  or  decorative  ornaments,  are  forms  invented  for 
the  purpose,  either  mere  lithic  forms,  or  copied  from  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  and  applied  so  as  to  give  elegance  or  brilliancy  to  the  con- 
structive decoration  just  described. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  of  these  are  mere  mouldings,  known  to 
architects  as  Scotias,  Cavettos,  Ogees,  Toruses,  Kolls,  etc.  —  curves 
which,  used  in  various  proportions,  either  horizontally  or  vertically, 
produce,  when  artistically  combined,  the  most  pleasing  effect. 

In  conjunction  with  these,  it  is  usual  to  employ  a  purely  conven- 
tional class  of  ornament,  such  as  frets,  scrolls,  or  those  known  as  the 
bead  and  reel,  or  egg  and  dart  mouldings ;  or  in  Gothic  architecture 
the  billet  or  dog-tooth  or  all  the  thousand  and  one  forms  that  were 
invented  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

In  certain  styles  of  art,  vegetable  forms  are  employed  even  more 
frequently  than  those  last  described.  Among  these,  perhaps  the  most 
beautiful  and  perfect  ever  invented  was  that  known  as  the  honey- 
suckle ornament,  which  the  Greeks  borrowed  from  the  Assyrians,  but 
made  so  peculiarly  their  own.  It  has  all  the  conventional  character 
of  a  purely  lithic,  with  all  the  grace  of  a  vegetable  form  ;  and,  as  used 
with  the  Ionic  order,  is  more  nearly  perfect  than  any  other  known. 

The  Romans  made  a  step  further  towards  a  more  direct  imitation 
of  nature  in  their  employment  of  the  acanthus  leaf.  As  applied  to  a 
capital,  or  where  the  constructive  form  of  the  bell  beneath  it  is  still 
distinctly  seen,  it  is  not  only  unobjectionable,  but  productive  of  the 
most  pleasing  effect.  Indeed  it  is  doubtful  if  anything  of  its  class 
has  yet  been  invented  so  entirely  satisfactory  as  the  Roman  Corinthian 
order,  as  found,  for  instance,  in  the  so-called  Temple  of  Jupiter 

VOL.  I. — 3 


34 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Part  I. 


Stator  at  Rome.  The  proportions  of  the  order  have  never  yet  been 
excelled,  and  there  is  just  that  balance  between  imitation  of  nature 

and  conventionality  w^hich  is  indispen- 
sable. It  is  not  so  pure  or  perfect  as  a 
Grecian  order,  but  as  an  example  of 
rich  decoration  applied  to  an  architec- 
tural order  it  is  unsurpassed. 

With  their  disregard  of  precedent 
and  untrammelled  wildness  of  imagina- 
tion, the  Gothic  architects  tried  every 
form  of  vegetable  ornament,  from  the 
purest  conventionalism,  where  the  vege- 
table form  can  hardly  be  recognized,  to 
the  most  literal  imitation  of  nature. 

While  confining  himself  to  purely 
lithic  forms,  an  architect  can  never  sin 
against  good  taste,  though  he  may  miss 
many  beauties ;  with  the  latter  class  of 
ornament  he  is  always  in  danger  of 
offence,  and  few  have  ever  employed  it 
without  falling  into  mistakes.  In  the 
first  place,  because  it  is  impossible  to 
imitate  jjerfectly  foliage  and  flowers  in 
stone;  and  secondly,  because  if  the  pliant  forms  of  plants  are  made 
to  support,  or  do  the  work  of,  hard  stone,  the  incongruity  is  imme- 
diately apparent,  and  the  more  perfect  the  imitation,  the  greater  the 
mistake. 

In  the  instance  (Woodcut  No.  5),  any  amount  of  literal  imitation 
that  the  sculptor  thought  proper  may  be  indulged  in,  because  in  it  the 
stone  construction  is  so  apparent  everywhere,  that  the  vegetable  form 
is  the  merest  supplement  conceivable  ;  or  in  a  hollow  moulding  round 

a  doorway,  a  vine  may  be  sculptured 
with  any  degree  of  imitation  that  can 
be  employed ;  for  as  it  has  no  more 
work  to  do  than  the  object  represented 
would  have  in  the  same  situation,  it  is 
a  mere  adjunct,  a  statue  of  a  plant 
placed  in  a  niche,  as  we  might  use  the 
statue  of  a  man :  but  if,  in  the  wood- 
cut (No.  6)  imitations  of  real  leaves 
were  used  to  support  the  upper  moulding,  the  effect  would  not  be  so 
satisfactory ;  indeed  it  is  questionable  if  in  both  these  last  examples  a 
little  more  conventionality  would  not  be  desirable. 

In  too  many  instances,  even  in  the  best  Gothic  architecture,  the 
construction  is  so  overlaid  by  imitative  vegetable  forms  as  to  be  con- 


>ECT.  XII. 


INTRODUCTION. 


35 


cealed,  and  the  work  is  apparently  done  by  leaves  or  twigs,  but  in  tlie 
earliest  and  purest  style  this  is  almost  never  the  case.  As  a  general 
rule  it  may  be  asserted  that  the  best  lithic  ornaments  are  those  which 
approach  nearest  to  the  grace  and  pliancy  of  plants,  and  that  the  best 
vegetable  forms  are  those  which  most  resemble  the  regularity  and 
symmetry  of  such  as  are  purely  conventional. 

Although  the  Greeks  in  one  or  two  instances  employed  human 
figures  to  support  entablatures  or  beams,  the  good  taste  of  such  an 
arrangement  is  more  than  questionable.  They  borrowed  it,  with 
the  Ionic  order,  from  the  Assyrians,  with  whom  the  employment  of 
caryatides  and  animal  forins  was  the  rule,  not  the  exception,  in  contra- 
distinction from  the  Egyptians,  who  never  adopted  this  practice. ^ 
Even  the  Romans  avoided  this  mistake,  and  the  Gothic  architects  also 
as  a  general  rule  kept  quite  clear  of  it.  Whenever  they  did  employ 
ornamented  figures  for  architectural  purposes,  they  were  either  mon- 
sters, as  in  gargoyles  or  griffins;  or  sometimes,  in  a  spirit  of  cari- 
cature, they  used  dwarfs  or  deformities  of  various  sorts;  but  their 
sculpture,  properly  so  called,  was  always  provided  with  a  niche  or 
pedestal,  where  it  might  have  been  placed  after  the  building  was 
complete,  or  from  which  it  might  be  removed  without  interfering 
with  the  architecture. 


XII.  —  Decorative  Color. 

Color  is  one  of  the  most  invaluable  elements  placed  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  architect  to  enable  him  to  give  grace  or  finish  to  his 
designs.  From  its  nature  it  is  of  course  only  an  accessory,  or  mere 
ornament ;  but  there  is  nothing  that  enables  him  to  express  his  mean- 
ing so  cheaply  and  easily,  and  at  the  same  time  with  such  brilliancy 
and  effect.  For  an  interior  it  is  absolutely  indispensable ;  and  no 
apartment  can  be  said  to  be  complete  till  it  has  received  its  finishing 
touches  from  the  hand  of  the  painter.  Whether  exteriors  ought  or 
ought  not  to  be  similarly  treated  admits  of  more  doubt. 

Internally  the  architect  has  complete  command  of  the  situation ; 
he  can  suit  his  design  to  his  colors,  or  his  colors  to  his  design. 
Walls,  roof,  floor,  furniture,  are  all  at  his  disposal,  and  he  can  shut 
out  any  discordant  element  that  would  interfere  with  the  desired 
effect. 

Externally  this  is  seldom,  if  ever  the  case.  A  facade  that  looks 
brilliant  and  well  in  noonday  sun  may  be  utterly  out  of  harmony  with 
a  cold  gray  sky,  or  with  the  warm  glow  of  a  setting  sun  full  upon  it ; 


^  The  Isis-headed  or  Typhonian  capi-  j  this  rule:  they  are  affixes,  and  never  ap- 
tals  cannot  be  quoted  as  an  exception  to  |  pear  to  be  doing  the  work  of  the  pillar. 


36  HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE.  Part  l. 

and  unless  all  other  buildings  and  objects  are  toned  into  accordance 
with  it,  the  effect  can  seldom  be  harmonious. 

There  can  be  now  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  Greeks  painted 
their  temples  both  internally  and  externally,  but  as  a  general  rule 
they  always  placed  them  on  heights  where  they  could  only  be  seen 
relieved  against  the  sky ;  and  they  could  depend  on  an  atmosphere  of 
almost  uniform,  unvarying  brightness.  Had  their  temples  been  placed 
in  groves  or  valleys,  they  would  probably  have  given  up  the  attempt, 
and  certainly  never  would  have  ventured  upon  it  in  such  a  climate 
as  ours. 

Except  in  such  countries  as  Egypt  and  Greece,  it  must  always  be 
a  mistake  to  apply  color  by  merely  painting  the  surface  of  the  build- 
ing externally ;  but  there  are  other  modes  of  effecting  this  which  are 
perfectly  legitimate.  Colored  ornaments  may  be  inlaid  in  the  stone 
of  the  wall  without  interfering  with  the  construction,  and  so  placed  may 
be  made  more  effective  and  brilliant  than  the  same  ornaments  would  be 
if  carved  on  relief.  Again,  string-courses  and  mouldings  of  various 
colored  stones  or  marbles  might  frequently  be  employed  with  better 
effect  than  can  be  obtained  in  some  situations  by  depth  of  cutting  and 
boldness  of  projection.  Such  a  mode  of  decoration  can,  however,  only 
be  partial ;  if  the  whole  building  is  to  be  colored,  it  must  be  done 
constructively,  by  using  different  colored  materials,  or  the  effect  will 
never  be  satisfactory. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  the  Italians  carried  this  mode  of  decoration  to 
a  considerable  extent ;  but  in  almost  all  instances  it  is  so  evidently 
a  veneer  overlying  the  construction  that  it  fails  to  please  ;  and  a 
decoration  which  internally,  where  construction  is  of  less  importance, 
would  excite  general  admiration,  is  without  meaning  on  the  outside 
of  the  same  wall. 

At  the  same  time  it  is  easy  to  conceive  how  polychromy  might  be 
carried  out  successfully,  if,  for  instance,  a  building  were  erected,  the 
pillars  of  which  were  of  red  granite  or  porphyry,  the  cornices  or  string- 
courses of  dark  colored  marbles,  and  the  plain  surfaces  of  lighter 
kinds,  or  even  of  stone.  A  design  so  carried  out  would  be  infinitely 
more  effective  than  a  similar  one  executed  in  tnaterials  of  only  one 
color,  and  depending  for  relief  only  on  varying  shadows  of  daylight. 
There  is,  in  fact,  just  the  same  difficulty  in  lighting  monochromatic 
buildings  as  there  is  with  sculpture.  A  colored  painting,  on  the 
other  hand,  requires  merely  sufficient  light,  and  with  that  expresses 
its  form  and  meaning  far  more  clearly  and  easily  than  when  only  one 
color  is  employed.  The  task,  however,  is  difficult ;  so  much  so, 
indeed,  that  there  is  hardly  one  single  instance  known  of  a  complete 
polychromatic  design  being  successfully  carried  out  anywhere,  though 
often  attempted.  The  other  mode  of  merely  inlaying  the  ornaments 
in  color  instead  of  relieving  them  by  carving  as  seldom  fails. 


Sect.  XIII. 


INTRODUCTION. 


37 


Notwithstanding  this,  an  architect  should  never  neglect  to  select 
the  color  of  his  materials  with  reference  to  the  situation  in  which  his 
building  is  to  stand.  A  red  brick  building  may  look  remarkably  well 
if  nestling  among  green  trees,  while  the  same  building  would  be 
hideous  if  situated  on  a  sandy  plain,  and  relieved  only  by  the  warm 
glow  of  a  setting  sun.  A  building  of  white  stone  or  white  brick  is 
as  inappropriate  among  the  trees,  and  may  look  bright  and  cheerful 
in  the  other  situation. 

In  towns  colors  might  be  used  of  very  great  brilliancy,  and  if 
done  constructively,  there  could  be  no  greater  improvement  to  our 
architecture ;  but  its  application  is  so  difficult  that  no  satisfactory 
result  has  yet  been  attained,  and  it  may  be  questioned  whether  it  will 
be  ever  successfully  accomplished. 

With  regard  to  interiors  there  can  be  no  doubt.  All  architects  in 
all  countries  of  the  world  resorted  to  this  expedient  to  harmonize  and 
give  brilliancy  to  their  compositions,  and  have  depended  on  it  for 
their  most  important  effects. 

The  Gothic  architects  carried  this  a  step  further  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  painted  glass,  which  was  a  mode  of  coloring  more  brilliant 
than  had  been  ever  before  attempted.  This  went  beyond  all  previous 
efforts,  inasmuch  as  it  colored  not  only  the  objects  themselves,  but 
also  the  light  in  which  they  were  seen.  So  enamored  were  they  of 
its  beauties,  that  they  sacrificed  much  of  the  constructive  propriety 
of  their  buildings  to  admit  of  its  display,  and  paid  more  attention 
to  it  than  to  any  other  part  of  their  designs.  Perhaps  they  carried 
this  predilection  a  little  beyond  the  limits  of  good  taste ;  but  color 
is  in  itself  so  exquisite  a  thing,  and  so  admirable  a  vehicle  for  the 
expression  of  architectural  as  well  as  of  aesthetic  beauty,  that  it  is 
difficult  to  find  fault  even  with  the  abuse  of  what  is  in  its  essence 
so  legitimate  and  so  beautiful. 


XIII. — Sculpture  and  Paintixg. 

Carved  ornament  and  decorative  color  come  within  the  especial 
province  of  the  architect.  In  some  styles,  such  as  the  Saracenic,  and  in 
many  buildings,  they  form  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega  of  the  decoration. 
But,  as  mentioned  above,  one  of  the  great  merits  of  architecture  as  an 
art  is  that  it  affords  room  for  the  display  of  the  works  of  the  sculptor 
and  the  painter,  not  only  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  interfere  with  its 
own  decorative  construction,  but  so  as  to  add  meaning  and  value  to 
the  whole.  No  Greek  temple  and  no  Gothic  cathedral  can  indeed  be 
said  to  be  perfect  or  complete  without  these  adjuncts ;  and  one  of  the 
principal  objects  of  the  architects  in  Greece  or  in  the  Middle  Ages  was 
to  design  places  and  devise  means  by  which  these  could  be  displayed 


38 


HISTORY  OF  AECHITECTUllE. 


Part  I. 


to  advantage,  without  interfering  either  with  the  construction  or  con- 
structive decoration.  This  was  perhaps  effected  more  successfully  in 
the  Parthenon  than  in  any  other  building  we  are  acquainted  with. 
The  pediments  at  either  end  were  noble  frames  for  the  exhibition  of 
sculpture,  and  the  metopes  were  equally  appropriate  for  the  purpose ; 
while  the  plain  walls  of  the  cella  were  admirably  adapted  for  paintings 
below  and  for  a  sculptured  frieze  above. 

The  deeply  recessed  portals  of  our  Gothic  cathedrals,  their  galleries, 
their  niches  and  pinnacles,  were  equally  appropriate  for  the  exuberant 
display  of  this  class  of  sculpture  in  a  less  refined  or  fastidious  age ; 
while  the  muUion-framed  windows  were  admirably  adapted  for  the 
exhibition  of  a  mode  of  colored  decoration,  somewhat  barbarous,  it 
must  be  confessed,  but  wonderfully  brilliant. 

The  system  was  carried  further  in  India  than  in  any  other  country 
except  perhaps  Egypt.  Probably  no  Hindu  temple  was  ever  erected 
without  being  at  least  intended  to  be  adorned  with  Phonetic  sculpture, 
and  many  of  them  are  covered  with  it  from  the  j)linth  to  the  eaves,  in 
strong  contrast  with  the  Mahomedan  buildings  that  stand  side  by 
side  with  them,  and  whicli  are  wholly  devoid  of  any  attempt  at  this 
kind  of  decoration.  The  taste  of  tliese  Hindu  sculptures  may  be 
questionable,  but  such  as  they  are  they  are  so  used  as  never  to  inter- 
fere with  the  architectural  effect  of  the  building  on  which  they 
are  employed,  but  always  so  as  to  aid  the  design  irrespective  of  the 
story  they  have  to  tell.  There  is  probably  no  instance  in  which 
their  removal  or  their  absence  would  not  be  felt  as  an  injury  from  an 
architectural  point  of  view. 

It  is  difficult  now  to  ascertain  whether  Phonetic  painting  was  used 
to  the  same  extent  as  sculpture  in  ancient  times.  From  its  nature  it  is 
infinitely  more  perishable,  and  a  bucket  of  whitewash  will  in  half  an 
hour  obliterate  the  work  of  years,  and,  strange  to  say,  there  are  ages, 
both  in  the  East  and  the  West,  where  men's  minds  are  so  attuned  that 
they  consider  whitewash  a  more  fitting  decoration  than  colored 
paintings  of  the  most  elaborate  and  artistic  character.  While  this  is 
so  we  need  hardly  wonder  that  our  means  of  forming  a  distinct  opinion  ♦ 
on  this  subject  are  somewhat  limited. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  still  one  of  the  special  privileges 
of  architecture  that  she  is  able  to  attract  to  herself  these  Phonetic  , 
arts,  and  one  of  the  greatest  merits  a  building  can  possess  is  its 
affording  appropriate  places  for  their  display  without  interfering  in 
any  way  with  the  special  department  of  the  architect.  But  it  is 
always  necessary  to  distinguish  carefully  between  what  belongs  to  the 
province  of  each  art  separately.  The  work  of  the  architect  ought  to 
be  complete  and  perfect  without  either  sculpture  or  ])ainting,  and 
must  be  judged  as  if  they  were  absent ;  but  he  will  not  have  been 
entirely  successful  unless  he  has  provided  the  means  by  which  the 


Sect.  XIV. 


INTRODUCTION. 


39 


value  of  liis  design  may  be  doubled  by  their  introduction.  It  is  only 
by  the  combination  of  the  Phonetic  utterance  with  the  Technic  and 
Esthetic  elements  that  a  perfect  work  of  art  has  been  produced,  and 
that  architecture  can  be  said  to  have  reached  the  highest  point  of 
perfection  to  which  it  can  aspire. 


Xiy .  —  Uniformity. 

Considerable  confusion  has  been  introduced  into  the  reasoning  on 
the  subject  of  architectural  Uniformity  from  the  assumption  that  the 
two  great  schools  of  art  —  the  classical  and  the  mediaeval  —  adopted 
contrary  conclusions  regarding  it,  Formality  being  supposed  to  be  the 
characteristic  of  the  former.  Irregularity  of  the  latter.  The  Greeks,  of 
course,  wlien  building  a  temple  or  monument,  which  was  only  one  room 
or  one  object,  made  it  exactly  symmetrical  in  all  its  parts  ;  but  so  did 
tlie  Gothic  architects  when  building  a  church  or  chapel  or  hall,  or  any 
single  object:  in  ninety-nine  instances  out  of  a  hundred,  a  line  drawm 
down  the  centre  divides  it  into  two  equal  and  symmetrical  halves ;  and 
when  an  exception  to  this  occurs,  there  is  some  obvious  motive  for  it. 

But  where  several  buildings  of  different  classes  were  to  be  grouped, 
or  even  two  temples  placed  near  one  another,  the  Greeks  took  the 
utmost  care  to  prevent  their  appearing  parts  of  one  design,  or  one 
whole ;  and  when,  a  sin  the  instance  of  the  Erechtheium,i  three  tem- 
ples are  placed  together,  no  Gothic  architect  ever  took  such  pains  ta 
secure  for  each  its  separate  individuality  as  the  Grecian  architect 
did.  What  has  given  rise  to  the  error  is,  that  all  the  smaller  objects 
of  Grecian  art  have  perished,  leaving  us  only  the  great  monuments- 
without  their  adjuncts. 

If  we  can  conceive  the  task  assigned  to  a  Grecian  architect  of 
erecting  a  building  like  one  of  our  collegiate  institutions,  he  would 
without  doubt  have  distinguished  the  chapel  from  the  refectory,  and 
that  from  the  library,  and  he  would  have  made  them  of  a  totally  dif- 
ferent design  from  the  principal's  lodge,  or  the  chambers  of  the  fel- 
lows and  students ;  but  it  is  more  than  probable  that,  while  carefully 
distinguishing  each  part  from  the  other,  he  would  have  arranged  them 
with  some  regard  to  symmetry,  placing  the  chapel  in  the  centre,  the 
library  and  refectory  as  pendants  to  one  another,  though  dissimilar, 
and  the  residences  so  as  to  connect  and  fill  up  the  whole  design.  The 
truth  seems  to  be  that  no  great  amount  of  dignity  can  be  obtained 
without  a  certain  degree  of  regularity ;  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  artistically  it  is  better  that  mere  utilitarian  convenience  should 
give  way  to  the  exigencies  of  architectural  design  than  that  the  latter 


See  woodcuts  further  on. 


40 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Taut  I. 


should  be  constrained  to  yield  to  the  more  prosaic  requirements  of  the 
building.  The  chance-medley  manner  in  which  many  such  buildings 
were  grouped  together  in  the  Middle  Ages  tells  the  story  as  clearly, 
and  may  be  productive  of  great  picturesqueness  of  effect,  but  not  of 
the  same  nobility  as  might  have  been  obtained  by  more  regularity. 
The  highest  class  of  design  will  never  be  reached  by  these  means. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  discover,  at  least  to  a  certain  extent,  that  the 
cause  of  this  is  that  no  number  of  separate  units  will  suffice  to  make 
one  whole.  A  number  of  jjebbles  will  not  make  a  great  stone,  nor  a 
number  of  rose-bushes  an  oak;  nor  will  any  number  of  dwarfs  make 
up  a  giant.  To  obtain  a  great  whole  there  must  be  unity,  to  which 
all  the  parts  must  contribute,  or  they  will  remain  separate  particles. 
The  effect  of  unity  is  materially  heightened  when  to  it  is  added  uni- 
formity ;  the  mind  then  instantly  and  easily  grasps  the  whole,  knows 
it  to  be  one,  and  recognizes  the  ruling  idea  that  governed  and  moulded 
the  whole  together.  It  seems  only  to  be  by  the  introduction  of  uni- 
formity that  sufficient  simplicity  for  greatness  can  be  obtained,  and 
the  evidence  of  design  made  so  manifest  that  the  mind  is  satisfied  that 
the  building  is  no  mere  accumulation  of  separate  objects, -but  the  pro- 
duction of  a  master-mind. 

In  a  palace  irregularity  seems  unpardonable.  The  architect  has 
there  practically  unlimited  command  of  funds,  and  of  his  arrangements, 
and  he  can  easily  design  his  suites  of  rooms  so  as  to  produce  any 
amount  of  uniformity  he  may  require :  the  different  heights  of  the 
different  stories,  and  the  amount  of  ornament  on  them,  with  the 
employment  of  wings  for  offices,  is  sufficient  to  mark  the  various  pur- 
poses of  the  various  parts ;  but  where  the  system  is  carried  so  far  in 
great  public  buildings,  that  great  halls,  libraries,  committee-rooms,  and 
subordinate  residences  are  all  squeezed  into  one  perfectly  uniform  de- 
sign, the  building  loses  all  meaning,  and  fails  from  the  opposite  error. 

The  rule  seems  to  be,  that  every  building,  or  every  part  of  one, 
ought  most  distinctly  and  clearly  to  express  not  only  its  constructive 
exigencies,  but  also  the  uses  for  which  it  is  destined  ;  on  the  other  hand, 
that  mere  utility,  in  all  instances  where  architectural  effect  is  aimed 
at,  ought  to  give  way  to  artistic  requirements  ;  and  that  an  architect  is 
consequently  justified,  in  so  far  as  his  means  will  admit,  in  producing 
that  amount  of  uniformity  and  regularity  which  seems  indispensable 
for  anything  like  grandeur  of  effect.  In  villas  and  small  buildings 
all  we  look  for  is  picturesqueness  and  meaning  combined  with  ele- 
gance ;  but  in  larger  and  more  monumental  erections  we  expect  some- 
thing more  ;  and  this  can  hardly  be  obtained  without  the  introduction 
of  some  new  element  which  shall  tell,  in  the  first  place,  that  artistic 
excellence  was  the  ruling  idea  of  the  design,  and  in  the  next  should 
give  it  that  perfect  balance  and  symmetry  which  seem  to  be  as  in- 
herent a  quality  of  the  higher  works  of  nature  as  of  true  art. 


Sect.  XV. 


INTRODUCTION. 


41 


XV.  —  Imitation  of  Nature. 

The  subject  of  tlie  imitation  of  Nature  is  one  intimately  connected 
with  those  mooted  in  the  preceding  paragraphs,  and  regarding  which 
considerable  misunderstanding  seems  to  prevail.  It  is  generally  as- 
sumed that  in  architecture  we  ought  to  copy  natural  objects  as  we  see 
them,  whereas  the  truth  seems  to  be  that  we  ought  always  to  copy 
the  processes,  never  the  forms  of  Nature.  The  error  aj^parently  has 
arisen  from  confounding  together  the  imitative  arts  of  painting  and 
sculpture  with  the  constructive  art  of  architecture.  The  former  have 
no  other  mode  of  expression  than  by  copying,  no  more  or  less  literally, 
the  forms  of  Nature ;  the  latter,  as  explained  above,  depends  wholly 
on  a  different  class  of  elements  for  its  effect ;  but  at  the  same  time  no 
architect  can  either  study  too  intently,  or  copy  too  closely,  the  meth- 
ods and  processes  by  wliich  Nature  accomplishes  her  ends ;  and  tHe 
most  perfect  building  will  be  that  in  which  these  have  been  most 
closely  and  literally  followed. 

To  take  one  prominent  instance:  So  far  as  we  can  judge,  the 
human  body  is  the  most  perfect  of  Nature's  works ;  in  it  the  ground- 
work or  skeleton  is  never  seen,  and  though  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  be 
anywhere  concealed,  it  is  only  displayed  at  the  joints  or  more  promi- 
nent points  of  support,  where  the  action  of  the  frame  would  be  other- 
wise unintelligible.  The  muscles  are  disposed  not  only  where  they 
are  most  useful,  but  so  as  to  form  groups  gracefully  rounded  in  out- 
line. The  softness  and  elegance  of  these  are  further  aided  by  the 
deposition  of  adipose  matter,  and  the  whole  is  covered  with  a  skin 
which  with  its  beautiful  texture  conceals  the  more  utilitarian  con- 
struction of  the  internal  parts.  In  the  trunk  of  the  body  the  viscera 
are  disposed  wholly  without  symmetry  or  reference  to  beauty  of  any 
sort  —  the  heart  on  one  side,  the  liver  on  the  other,  and  the  other  parts 
exactly  in  those  positions  and  in  those  forms  by  which  they  may  most 
directly  and  easily  perform  the  essential  functions  for  which  they  are 
designed.  But  the  whole  is  concealed  in  a  perfectly  symmetrical 
sheath  of  the  most  exquisitely  beautiful  outline.  It  may  be  safely 
asserted  that  a  building  is  beautiful  and  perfect  exactly  in  the  ratio  in 
which  the  same  amount  of  concealment  and  the  same  amount  of  dis- 
play of  construction  is  preserved,  where  the  same  symmetry  is  shown 
as  betweeen  the  right  and  left  sides  of  the  human  body  —  the  same 
difference  as  between  the  legs  and  arms,  where  the  parts  are  applied 
to  different  purposes,  and  where  the  same  amount  of  ornament  is 
added,  to  adorn  without  interfering  with  what  is  useful.  In  short, 
there  is  no  principle  involved  in  the  structure  of  man  which  may  not 
be  taken  as  the  most  absolute  standard  of  excellence  in  architecture. 

It  is  in  Nature's  highest  works  that  we  find  the  symmetry  of 


42 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


proportion  most  prominent.  When  we  descend  to  the  lower  types 
of  animals  we  lose  it  to  a  great  extent,  and  among  trees  and  vege- 
tables generally  lind  it  only  in  a  far  less  degree,  and  sometimes  miss 
it  altogether.  In  the  mineral  kingdom,  among  rocks  and  stones,  it  is 
altogether  absent.  So  universal  is  this  principle  in  Nature  that  we 
may  safely  apply  it  to  our  criticism  on  art,  and  say  that  a  building 
is  perfect  as  a  whole  in  proportion  to  its  motived  regularity,  and 
departs  from  the  highest  type  in  the  ratio  in  which  symmetrical 
arrangement  is  neglected.  It  may,  however,  be  incorrect  to  say 
that  an  oak  tree  is  a  less  perfect  work  of  creation  than  a  human 
being,  but  it  is  certain  tliat  it  is  lower  in  the  scale  of  created  beings. 
So  it  may  be  said  that  a  picturesque  group  of  Gothic  buildings  may 
be  as  perfect  as  the  stately  regularity  of  an  Egyj)tian  or  chissic  temple; 
but  if  it  is  so,  it  is  equally  certain  that  it  belongs  to  a  lower  and 
inferior  class  of  design. 

This  analogy,  however,  we  may  leave  for  the  p^-esent.  The  one 
point  which  it  is  indispensable  to  insist  on  here  is,  that  man  can  pro- 
gress or  tend  towards  success  only  by  following  the  principles  and 
copying,  so  far  as  he  can  understand  them,  the  processes  which  Nature 
employs  in  her  works  ;  but  he  can  never  succeed  in  anytliing  by  copy- 
ing forms  without  reference  to  ])rinciples.  If  we  could  find  Nature 
making  trees  like  stones,  or  animals  like  trees,  or  birds  like  fishes,  or 
fishes  like  mammalia,  or  using  any  parts  taken  from  one  kingdom  for 
purposes  belonging  to  another,  it  would  then  be  perfectly  legitimate 
for  us  to  use  man's  stature  as  the  modulus  for  a  Doric,  or  a  woman's 
as  that  of  a-n  Ionic  column  —  to  build  cathedrals  like  groves,  and 
make  windows  like  leaves,  or  to  estimate  their  beauty  by  their  resem- 
blance to  such  objects;  but  all  such  comparisons  proceed  on  an  entire 
mistake  of  what  imitation  of  Nature  really  means. 

It  is  the  merest  and  most  absolute  negation  of  reason  to  apply  to 
one  purpose  things  that  were  designed  for  another,  or  to  imitate  them 
when  they  have  no  appropriateness ;  but  it  is  our  highest  privilege  to 
understand  the  processes  of  Nature.  To  apply  these  to  our  own 
w\ants  and  purposes  is  the  noblest  use  of  human  intellect  and  the 
perfection  of  human  wisdom. 

So  instinctively,  but  so  literally,  has  this  correct  process  of  imitating 
Nature  been  followed  in  all  true  styles  of  architecture,  that  we  can 
always  reason  regarding  them  as  we  do  with  reference  to  natural 
objects.  Thus,  if  an  architect  finds  in  any  quarter  of  the  globe  a 
Doric  or  Corinthian  capital  with  a  few  traces  of  a  foundation,  he  can, 
at  a  glance,  tell  the  age  of  the  temple  or  building  to  which  it  belonged. 
He  knows  who  the  people  were  who  erected  it,  to  what  purpose  it  was 
dedicated,  and  proceeds  at  once  to  restore  its  porticos,  and  without 
much  uncertainty  can  reproduce  the  whole  fabric.  Or  if  he  finds  a  few 
Gothic  bases  in  situ,  with  a  few  mouldings  or  frusta  of  columns,  by  the 


Sect.  XVI. 


INTRODUCTION. 


43 


same  process  he  traces  the  age,  the  size,  and  the  purposes  of  the  building 
before  him.  A  Cuvier  or  an  Owen  can  restore  the  form  and  predicate 
the  habits  of  an  extinct  animal  from  a  few  fragments  of  bone,  or  even 
from  a  print  of  a  foot.  In  the  same  manner  an  architect  may,  from  a 
few  fragments  of  a  building,  if  of  a  true  style  of  architecture,  restore 
the  whole  of  its  pristine  form,  and  with  almost  the  same  amount  of 
certainty.  This  arises  wholly  because  the  architects  of  former  days  had 
correct  ideas  of  what  was  meant  by  imitation  of  Nature.  They  added 
nothing  to  their  buildings  which  was  not  essential ;  there  was  no  detail 
which  had  not  its  use,  and  no  ornament  which  was  not  an  elaboration 
or  heightening  of  some  essential  part,  and  hence  it  is  that  a  true  building 
is  as  like  to  a  work  of  Nature  as  any  production  of  man's  hands  can 
be  to  the  creations  of  his  Maker. 


XVI.  — AssociATiois-. 

There  is  one  property  inherent  in  the  productions  of  architectural 
art,  which,  while  it  frequently  lends  to  them  half  their  charm,  at  the 
same  time  tends  more  than  anything  else  to  warp  and  distort  our  critical 
judgments  regarding  them.  We  seldom  can  look  at  a  building  of  any 
age  without  associating  with  it  such  historical  memories  as  may  cling 
to  its  walls  ;  and  our  predilection  for  any  peculiar  style  of  architecture 
are  more  often  due  to  educational  or  devotional  associations  than  to 
purely  artistic  judgments.  A  man  must  be  singularly  ignorant  or 
strangely  passionless  who  can  stand  among  the  fallen  columns  of  a 
Grecian  temple,  or  wander  through  the  corridors  of  a  Roman  amphi- 
theatre, or  the  aisles  of  a  ruined  Gothic  abbey,  and  not  feel  his  heart 
stirred  by  emotions  of  a  totally  different  class  from  those  suggested  by 
•the  beauty  of  the  mouldings  or  the  artistic  arrangement  of  the  building 
he  is  contemplating. 

The  enthusiasm  which  bursts  forth  in  the  15th  century  for  the 
classical  style  of  art,  and  then  proved  fatal  to  the  Gothic,  was  not  so 
much  an  architectural  as  a  literary  movement.  It  arose  from  the 
re-discovery  —  if  it  may  be  so  called  —  of  the  poems  ot^  Homer  and 
Virgil,  of  the  histories  of  Thucydides  and  Tacitus,  of  the  philosophy  of 
Aristotle  and  the  eloquence  of  Cicero.  It  was  a  vast  reaction  against 
the  darkness  and  literary  degradation  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  carried 
the  educated  classes  of  Europe  with  it  for  the  next  three  centuries. 
So  long  as  classical  literature  only  was  taught  in  our  schools,  and 
classical  models  followed  in  our  literature,  classical  architecture  could 
alone  be  tolerated  in  our  buildings,  and  this  generally  without  the 
least  reference  either  to  its  own  peculiar  beauties,  or  its  appropriateness 
for  the  purposes  to  which  it  was  applied. 

A  second  reaction  has  now  taken  place  against  this  state  of  affairs. 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


The  revival  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  mediaeval  Church,  our 
reverent  love  of  our  own  national  antiquities,  and  our  admiration  for 
the  rude  but  vigorous  manhood  of  the  Middle  Ages,  —  all  have  com- 
bined to  repress  the  classical  element  both  in  our  literature  and  our 
art,  and  to  exalt  in  their  place  Gothic  feelings  and  Gothic  art,  to  an 
extent  which  cannot  be  justified  on  any  grounds  of  reasonable 
criticism. 

Unless  the  art-critic  can  free  himself  from  the  influence  of  these 
adventitious  associations,  his  judgments  lose  half  their  value  ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  the  historian  of  art  they  are  of  the  utmost  importance. 
It  is  because  architecture  so  fully  and  so  clearly  expresses  the  feelings 
of  the  people  who  practised  it  that  it  becomes  frequently  a  better 
vehicle  of  history  than  the  written  page ;  and  it  is  these  very  asso- 
ciations that  give  life  and  meaning  to  blocks  of  stone  and  mounds  of 
brick,  and  bring  so  vividly  before  our  eyes  the  feelings  and  the 
aspirations  of  the  long-forgotten  past. 

The  importance  of  association  in  giving  value  to  the  objects  of 
architectural  art  can  hardly  be  overrated  either  by  the  student  or 
historian.  What  has  to  be  guarded  against  is  that  unreasoning  enthu- 
siasm which  mistakes  the  shadow  for  tlie  reality,  and  would  force  us 
to  admire  a  rude  piece  of  clumsy  barbarism  erected  yesterday,  and  to 
which  no  history  consequently  attaches,  because  something  like  it  was 
done  in  some  long  past  age.  Its  reality,  its  antiquity,  and  its  weather- 
stains  may  render  its  prototype  extremely  interesting  even  if  not 
beautiful;  while  its  copy  is  only  an  antiquarian  toy,  as  ugly  as  it  is 
absurd. 

XVII.  — New  Style. 

There  is  still  one  other  point  of  view  from  which  it  is  necessary  to 
look  at  this  question  of  architectural  design  before  any  just  conclusion 
can  be  arrived  at  regarding  it.  It  is  in  fact  necessary  to  answer  two 
other  questions,  nearly  as  often  asked  as  those  proposed  at  the  beginning 
of  Section  III.  "  Can  any  one  invent  a  new  style?"  —  "  Can  we  ever 
again  have  a^ew  and  original  style  of  architecture  ?  "  Reasoning  from 
experience  alone,  it  is  easy  to  answer  these  questions.  No  individual 
has,  so  far  as  we  know,  ever  invented  a  new  style  in  any  part  of  the 
world.  No  one  can  even  be  named  who  during  the  prevalence  of  a 
true  style  of  art  materially  advanced  its  progress,  or  by  his  individual 
exertion  did  much  to  help  it  forward  ;  and  we  may  safely  answer,  that 
as  this  has  never  happened  before,  it  is  hardly  probable  that  it  will 
ever  occur  now. 

If  this  one  question  must  be  answered  in  the  negative,  the  other 
may  as  certainly  be  answered  in  the  afiirmative,  inasmuch  as  no  nation 
in  any  age  or  in  any  part  of  the  globe  has  failed  to  invent  for  itself  a 


Sect.  XVII. 


INTRODUCTION. 


45 


true  and  appropriate  style  of  architecture  whenever  it  chose  to  set 
about  it  in  the  right  way,  and  there  certainly  can  be  no  great  difficulty 
in  our  doing  now  what  has  been  so  often  done  before,  if  we  only  set 
to  work  in  a  proper  spirit,  and  are  prepared  to  follow  the  same  pro- 
cess which  others  have  followed  to  obtain  this  result. 

What  that  process  is,  may  perhaps  be  best  explained  by  such  an 
example  as  that  of  ship-building,  before  alluded  to,  which,  though 
totally  distinct,  is  still  so  nearly  allied  to  architecture,  as  to  make  a 
comparison  between  the  two  easy  and  intelligible. 

Let  us,  for  instance,  take  a  series  of  ships,  beginning  with  those  in 
which  William  the  Conqueror  invaded  our  shores,  or  the  fleet  with  which 
Edward  III.  crossed  over  to  France.  Next  take  the  vessels  which  trans- 
ported Henry  VIII.  to  his  meeting  with  Francis  I.,  and  then  pass  on 
to  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Armada  and  the  sea  fights  of  Van  Tromp 
and  De  Kuyter,  and  on  to  the  times  of  William  III.,  and  then  through 
the  familiar  examples  till  we  come  to  such  ships  as  the  "  Wellington  " 
and  " Marlborough  "  of  yesterday,  and  the  "  Warrior  "  or  " Minotaur" 
of  to-day.  In  all  this  long  list  of  examples  we  have  a  gradual,  steady, 
forward  progress  without  one  check  or  break.  Each  century  is  in 
advance  of  the  one  before  it,  and  the  result  is  as  near  perfection  as 
we  can  well  conceive. 

But  if  we  ask  who  effected  these  improvements,  or  w^ho  invented  any 
part  of  the  last-named  wonderful  fabrics,  we  must  search  deep  indeed 
into  the  annals  of  the  navy  to  find  out.  But  no  one  has  inquired,  and 
no  one  cares  to  know,  for  the  simple  reason  that,  like  architecture 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  it  is  a  true  and  living  art,  and  the  improve- 
ments were  not  effected  by  individuals,  but  by  all  classes  —  owners, 
sailors,  shipwrights,  and  men  of  science,  all  working  together 
through  centuries,  each  lending  the  aid  of  his  experience  or  of  his 
reasoning. 

If  we  place  alongside  of  this  series  of  ships  a  list  of  churches  or 
cathedrals,  commencing  with  Charlemagne  and  ending  with  Charles  V., 
we  find  the  same  steady  and  assured  progress  obtained  by  the  same 
identical  means.  In  this  instance,  princes,  priests,  masons,  and  mathe- 
maticians, all  worked  steadily  together  for  the  whole  period,  striving 
to  obtain  a  well-defined  result. 

In  the  ship  the  most  suitable  materials  only  are  employed  in  every 
part,  and  neither  below  nor  aloft  is  there  one  single  timber  nor  spar 
nor  one  rope  which  is  superfluous.  Nor  in  the  cathedral  was  any 
material  ever  used  that  was  not  believed  to  be  the  most  suitable  for  its 
purpose ;  nor  any  form  of  construction  adopted  which  did  not  seem  the 
best  to  those  who  employed  it ;  nor  any  detail  added  which  did  not 
appear  necessary  for  the  purpose  it  was  designed  to  express  ;  the  result 
being,  that  we  can  look  on  and  contemy^late  both  with  the  same  un- 
mitigated satisfaction. 


46 


HISTORY  OF  ARCIIITECTUllE. 


Paut  1. 


The  one  point  where  this  comparison  seems  to  halt  is,  that  ship- 
building never  became  a  purely  fine  art,  which  architecture  really  is. 
The  difference  is  only  one  of  aim,  which  it  would  be  as  easy  to  apply 
to  tlie  one  art,  as  it  has  been  to  the  other.  Had  architecture  never 
progressed  beyond  its  one  strictly  legitimate  object  of  house-building, 
it  never  would  liave  been  more  near  a  fine  art  than  merchant  ship- 
building, and  pahaces  would  only  have  been  magnified  dwelling-places. 
Castles  and  men-of-war  advanced  both  one  stage  further  towards  a  fine 
art.  Size  and  power  were  impressed  on  both,  and  in  this  respect  they 
stand  precisely  equal  to  one  another.  Here  ship-building  halted,  and 
has  not  progressed  beyond,  while  architecture  has  been  invested  with 
a  higher  aim.  In  all  ages  men  have  sought  to  erect  houses  more  dig- 
nified and  stately  than  those  designed  for  their  personal  use.  They 
attem2:)ted  the  erection  of  dwelling-places  for  their  Gods,  or  temples 
worthy  of  the  worship  of  Supreme  Beings  ;  and  it  was  only  when  this 
strictly  useful  art  threw  aside  all  sliadow  of  utilitarianism,  and 
launched  boldly  forth  in  search  of  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime,  that 
it  became  a  truly  fine  art,  and  took  the  elevated  position  which  it  now 
holds  above  all  other  useful  arts.  It  would  have  been  easy  to  supply 
the  same  motive  to  ship-building.  If  we  could  imagine  any  nation 
ever  to  construct  ships  of  God,  or  to  worship  on  the  bosom  of  the 
ocean,  ships  might  easily  be  made  such  objects  of  beauty  that  the 
cathedral  could  hardly  compete  with  them. 

It  is  not,  however,  only  in  architecture  or  in  ship-building  that  this 
process  is  essential,  for  the  progress  of  every  art  and  every  science 
that  is  worthy  of  the  name  is  owing  to  the  same  simple  process  of  the 
aggregation  of  experiences ;  whether  we  look  to  metallurgy  or  me- 
chanics, cotton-spinning  or  coining,  their  perfection  is  due  to  the 
same  cause.  So  also  the  sciences  —  astronomy,  chemistry,  geology  — 
are  all  cultivated  by  the  same  means.  When  the  art  or  science  is 
new,  great  men  stand  forth  and  make  great  strides ;  but  when  once 
it  reaches  maturity,  and  becomes  the  property  of  the  nation,  the  indi- 
vidual is  lost  in  the  mass,  and  a  thousand  inferior  brains  follow  out 
steadily  and  surely  the  path  which  the  one  great  intellect  has  pointed 
out,  but  which  no  single  mind,  however  great,  could  carry  to  its 
legitimate  conclusion. 

So  far  as  any  reason  or  experience  yet  known  can  be  applied  to 
this  subject,  it  seems  clear  that  no  art  or  science  ever  has  been  or  can 
be  now  advanced  by  going  backwards,  and  copying  earlier  forms,  or 
those  applicable  to  other  times  or  other"  circumstances ;  and  that 
progress  toward  perfection  can  only  be  obtained  by  the  united  efforts 
of  many  steadily  pursuing  a  well-defined  object.  Whenever  this  is 
done,  success  appears  to  be  inevitable,  or  at  all  events  every  age  is 
perfectly  satisfied  with  its  own  productions.  Where  forward  progress 
is  the  law,  it  is  certain  that  the  next  age  will  surpass  the  present ; 


Sect.  XVllI. 


INTRODUCTION. 


47 


but  the  living  cannot  conceive  anything  more  perfect  than  what  they 
are  doing,  or  they  would  apply  it.  Everything  in  any  true  art  is 
thoroughly  up  to  the  highest  standard  of  its  period,  and  instead  of  the 
dissatisfied  uncertainty  in  which  we  are  wandering  in  all  matters 
concerning  architecture,  we  should  be  exulting  in  our  own  produc- 
tions, and  proud  in  leaving  to  our  posterity  the  progress  we  have 
made,  feeling  assured  that  we  have  paved  the  way  for  them  to  advance 
to  a  still  higher  standard  of  perfection. 

As  soon  as  the  public  are  aware  of  the  importance  of  this  rule,  and 
of  its  applicability  to  architecture,  a  new  style  must  be  the  inevitable 
result ;  and  if  our  civilization  is  what  we  believe  it  to  be,  that  style 
will  not  only  be  perfectly  suited  to  all  our  wants  and  desires,  but  also 
more  beautiful  and  more  perfect  than  any  that  has  ever  existed  before. 


XYIII.  —  Prospects. 

If  we  turn  from  these  speculations  to  ask  what  prospect  there  is  of 
the  public  appreciating  correctly  this  view  of  the  matter,  or  setting 
earnestly  about  carrying  it  out,  the  answer  can  hardly  be  deemed 
satisfactory. 

The  clergy,  not  only  in  England  but  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  Gothic  style  is  the  one  most 
suited  for  church-building  purposes  ;  and  this  has  now  become  so 
established  a  point  that  no  deviation  from  Gothic  models  is  tolerated. 
Any  architect  who  would  attempt  originality  in  plan,  or  introduce 
even  a  new  detail  or  moulding,  is  immediately  set  down  as  ignorant 
of  his  profession,  and  the  experiment  is  not  repeated.  Every  year 
that  we  continue  in  this  path,  and  that  our  knowledge  of  the  style 
becomes  greater,  the  heavier  will  our  chains  become,  and  anything 
like  originality  or  progress  in  this  important  branch  of  architecture 
more  absolutely  impossible. 

The  study  of  the  classical  languages,  to  which  so  much  importance 
is  attached  in  our  public  schools,  and  in  our  own  and  most  foreign 
universities,  tended  at  one  time  in  another  way  to  draw  attention 
from  the  formation  of  a  true  style  of  architecture  by  fixing  it  exclu- 
sively on  Greek  and  Roman  models.  The  Renaissance  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  as  pointed  out  above,  arose  much  more  from  admiration  of 
classic  literature  than  from  any  feeling  for  the  remains  of  buildings 
which  had  been  neglected  for  centuries,  and  were  far  surpassed  by 
those  which  succeeded  them.  The  same  feelings  perpetuated  by  early  • 
association  are  the  great  cause  of  the  hold  that  classic  art  still  has  on 
the  educated  classes  in  Europe. 

In  clubs  and  mixed  societies  the  style  usually  adopted  is  the 
Italian,  out  of  which  progress  may  come  if  common  sense  be  allowed 


48 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


to  prevail  over  classical  precedents,  or  the  contrary  if  the  reactionary 
element  be  allowed  to  obtain  the  preference. 

Below  these  there  is  another  class  of  men  who  have  but  little  sym- 
pathy with  Greece  or  Kome,  and  still  less  with  mediaBval  monasticism 
or  feudalism,  but  who  in  their  own  strong  sense  seem  inclined  to  take  a 
more  reasonable  view  of  the  matter,  and  these  men  are  now  erecting 
at  Manchester  and  in  other  cities  of  the  North  a  series  of  warehouses 
and  other  buildings  designed  wholly  with  reference  to  their  uses,  and 
ornamented  only  in  their  construction,  and  which  consequently  are  — 
as  far  as  their  utilitarian  purposes  will  allow  —  as  satisfactory  as  any- 
thing of  former  days.  Eastward  of  Temple  Bar  there  are  many 
buildings  arising  on  the  same  system,  and  with  a  little  more  experi- 
ence they  promise  to  be  as  satisfactory  as  those  in  the  North. 

In  civil  engineering,  the  lowest  and  most  prosaic  branch  of  archi- 
tectural art,  our  progress  has  been  brilliant  and  rapid.  Of  this  no 
better  example  can  be  given  than  the  four  great  bridges  erected  over 
the  Thames.  The  old  bridges  of  Westminster  and  Blackfriars,  and 
those  of  Waterloo  and  London,  were  erected  at  nearly  equal  intervals 
during  one  century,  and  the  steady  progress  which  they  exhibit  is 
greater  than  that  of  almost  any  similar  branch  of  art  during  any 
equal  period  of  time. 

In  this  department  our  progress  is  so  undeniable  that  we  saw  old 
London  Bridge  removed  without  regret,  though  it  was  a  work  of  the 
same  age  and  of  the  same  men  who  built  all  our  greatest  and  best 
cathedrals,  and  in  its  own  line  was  quite  as  perfect  and  as  beautiful 
as  they.  But  it  had  outlived  its  age,  and  we  knew  we  could  replace 
it  by  a  better  —  so  its  destruction  was  inevitable;  and  if  we  had 
made  the  same  progress  in  the  higher  that  we  have  in  the  lower 
branches  of  the  building  art,  we  should  see  a  Gothic  cathedral  pulled 
down  with  the  same  indifference,  content  to  know  that  we  could 
easily  replace  it  by  one  far  nobler  and  more  worthy  of  our  age  and 
intelligence.  ■  No  architect  during  the  Middle  Ages  ever  hesitated  to 
pull  down  any  part  of  a  cathedral  that  was  old  and  going  to  decay, 
and  to  replace  it  with  something  in  the  style  of  the  day,  however 
incongruous  that  might  be ;  and  if  we  were  progressing  as  they  were, 
we  should  have  as  little  compunction  in  following  the  same  course. 

In  the  confusion  of  ideals  and  of  styles  which  now  prevails,  it  is 
satisfactory  to  be  able  to  contemplate,  in  the  Crystal  Palace  at  Syden- 
ham, at  least  one  great  building  carried  out  wholly  on  the  principles 
of  Gothic  or  of  any  true  style  of  art.  No  material  is  used  in  it  which 
'is  not  the  best  for  its  purpose,  no  constructive  expedient  employed 
which  was  not  absolutely  essential,  and  it  depends  wholly  for  its  effect 
on  the  arrangement  of  its  parts  and  the  display  of  its  construction.  So 
essentially  is  its  principle  the  same  which,  as  we  have  seen,  animated 
Gothic  architecture,  that  we  hardly  know  even  now  how  much  of  the 


Sect.  XVIII. 


INTRODUCTION. 


49 


design  belongs  to  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  how  much  to  the  contractors,  or 
how  much  to  the  subordinate  officers  employed  by  the  Company.  Here 
as  in  a  cathedral,  every  man  was  set  to  work  in  that  department  which 
it  was  supposed  he  was  best  qualified  to  superintend.  There  was  room 
for  every  art  and  for  every  intellect,  and  clashing  and  interference 
were  impossible.  This,  however,  was  only  the  second  of  the  series. 
The  third  was  entrusted  to  an  Engineer  officer,  who  had  no  architectural 
education,  and  Avho  had  never  thought  twice  on  the  subject  before  he 
was  set  to  carry  out  his  very  inchoate  design  for  the  1862  Exhibition. 
He  failed  of  course,  for  Architecture  is  not  a  Phonetic  art  depending  on 
inspiration  but  a  technic  art  based  on  experience.  As  re-erected  on 
Muswell  Hill  the  building  was  immensely  improved,  and  far  superior 
to  its  predecessor,  but  was  burnt  down  before  the  public  had  time  to 
realize  its  form.  As  being  rebuilt,  it  probably  will  be  still  one  step 
further  in  advance,  and  if  the  series  were  carried  to  a  hundred,  with 
more  leisure  and  a  higher  aim,  we  might  perhaps  learn  to  despise 
many  things  we  now  so  servilely  copy,  and  might  create  a  style  sur- 
passing anything  that  ever  went  before.  We  have  certainly  more 
wealth,  more  constructive  skill,  and  more  knowledge  than  our  fore- 
fathers ;  and,  living  in  the  same  climate  and  being  of  the  same  race, 
there  seems  no  insuperable  difficulty  in  our  doing  at  least  as  much 
if  not  more  than  they  accomplished. 

Art,  however,  will  not  be  regenerated  by  buildings  so  ephemeral 
as  Crystal  Palaces  or  so  prosaic  as  Manchester  warehouses,  nor  by 
anything  so  essentially  utilitarian  as  the  works  of  our  engineers.  The 
one  hope  is  that  having  commenced  at  the  bottom,  the  true  system 
may  extend  upwards,  and  come  at  last  to  be  applied  to  our  palaces  and 
even  to  churches,  and  that  the  whole  nation  may  lend  its  aid  to  work 
out  the  great  problem.  So  long,  however,  as  CQclesiastical  architecture 
is  no  longer  practised  as  a  progressive  art,  but  remains  in  the  hands 
of  the  archaeologist,  the  onward  path  is  obstructed.  In  all  ages  it  was 
Temple  or  Church  building  —  it  was  the  desire  to  erect  a  dwelling 
worthy  of  the  Deity,  or  a  place  appropriate  to  high  and  solemn 
worship,  that  filled  architects  with  that  high  aim  that  enabled  them 
to  elevate  their  art  so  high  in  the  scale  above  its  sister  Technic  arts. 
Till  Church  building  is  again  taken  from  those  who  only  copy,  and 
put  into  the  hands  of  those  who  think,  it  will  be  difficult  to  furnish 
the  profession  with  aspirations  high  enough  to  enable  them  to  restore 
their  art  to  its  pristine  lofty  position.  The  prospect  of  this  being  done 
seems  distant,  but  whenever  this  and  the  general  significance  of  the 
problem  is  rightly  appreciated  by  the  public,  the  result  seems  inevi- 
table ;  and  with  the  means  of  diffusing  knowledge  which  we  now 
possess,  we  may  perhaps  be  permitted  to  fancy  that  the  dawn  is  at 
hand,  and  that  after  our  long  wanderings  in  the  dark,  daylight  may 
again  enlighten  our  path  and  gladden  our  hearts  with  the  vision 

VOL.  I. — 4 


50 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


of  brighter  and  better  things  in  art  than  a  false  svstem  has  hitherto 
enabled  us  to  attain. 

These  remarks  might  easily  be  extended  to  any  desired  length,  and 
in  fact  this  part  of  the  work  ought  to  be  enlarged  till  it  equalled  the 
narrative  part,  if  it  had  any  pretension  to  be  a  complete  treatise  on 
the  Art  of  Architecture.  In  that  case,  the  static  or  descriptive  part  of  a 
treatise  on  any  art  is  equally  important  with  the  dynamic  or  narrative 
part.  In  most  instances  more  so  ;  but  in  tliis  respect  architecture  is 
exceptional,  and  the  narrative  form  is  by  far  the  more  important  of  the 
two  divisions  into  which  the  subject  naturally  divides  itself. 

If,  for  instance,  any  one  were  writing  a  treatise  on  Naval  Archi- 
tecture, it  is  more  than  probable  tliat  he  would  not  allude  to  any 
vessel  not  afloat  at  the  time  of  his  writing.  If  he  mentioned  the 
triremes  of  the  Romans  or  the  galleys  of  the  Venetians,  it  would  be  in  an 
introductory  chapter  intended  for  the  amusement,  not  tlie  instruction, 
of  his  readers.  In  like  manner,  if  an  engineer  undertakes  to  write  on 
the  art  of  bridge-building,  harl)or-making,  or  on  roads  or  canals,  he 
is  only  careful  to  cite  the  best  existing  examples  in  use  and  would  be 
considered  pedantic  if  he  wasted  liis  tunc,  or  that  of  his  readers,  in 
recounting  what  was  done  in  these  departments  by  the  Romans  or  the 
Chinese.  If  the  fine  art  architecture  was  with  us  as  well  up  to  the 
mark  of  the  intelligence  of  the  day  as  those  more  utilitarian  branches 
of  the  profession,  the  same  course  would  be  the  proper  one  to  pursue 
in  writing  with  regard  to  it.  Unfortunately,  however,  we  have  no 
architecture  of  our  own,  and  it  is  impossible  to  make  the  various 
styles  in  practice  either  intelligible  or  interesting,  except  by  tracing 
them  back  to  their  origin,  and  explaining  the  steps  by  which  they 
reached  perfection. 

If  architecture  was  practised  by  us  on  the  same  princi])les  that 
guided  either  the  Classic  or  Gothic  architects  in  their  designs,  a 
static  treatise  on  it  would  not  only  be  the  most  instructive  but  the 
most  pleasing  form  of  teaching  its  elements.  Owing,  however,  to 
the  system  of  copying  which  is  now  the  basis  of  all  designs,  that  is  no 
longer  the  case,  and  the  consequently  abnormal  position  of  the  art 
renders  the  study  of  its  principles  almost  impossible,  and  memory 
must  supply  the  place  of  pure  reason  for  their  elucidation,  thus  giving 
to  the  narrative  branch  of  the  subject  a  somewhat  exaggerated  impor- 
tance, even  when  looked  at  from  a  merely  technic  point  of  view. 

Besides  this,  however,  the  narrative  form  as  applied  to  Architecture 
has  advantages  of  its  own  greater  than  those  of  any  other  art  of  the 
same  class,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  great  stone  book  in  which  most  of  the 
nations  of  the  earth  have  recorded  their  annals,  and  written  their 
thoughts,  and  even  expressed  their  feelings  in  clearer  and  truer 
language  than  by  any  other  form  of  utterance.    The  pyramids  and 


Sect.  III. 


INTRODUCTION. 


51 


temples  of  Egypt  are  a  truer  expression  of  the  feelings  and  aspirarions 
of  their  builders  than  we  can  obtain  from  any  other  source.  The  Par- 
thenon at  Athens  brings  the  age  of  Pericles  more  clearly  before  our 
eyes  in  all  its  perfection  of  art  than  any  written  page.  The  Flavian 
Amphitheatre  and  the  Baths  of  Carracalla  enable  us  to  realize  imperial 
Rome  more  vividly  than  even  the  glowing  pages  of  Tacitus.  Our 
Mediaeval  cathedrals  are  a  living  record  of  the  faith  and  feelings  of 
peoples,  who  have  left,  besides  these,  but  few  materials  by  which  one 
could  judge  of  their  aspirations  or  of  their  civilization ;  while,  if  we  wish 
to  know  in  what  India  differed  from  Europe  in  those  ages,  and  in  what 
respect  she  still  resembled  it,  it  is  to  her  contemporary  temples  that  we 
must  turn,  and  they  tell  us  in  a  language  not  to  be  mistaken  wherein 
lay  the  differences,  and  still  how  nearly  like  the  civilizations  at  one 
time  were.  All  this,  and  infinitely  more,  we  may  learn  from  a  record, 
which,  though  often  ruined  and  nearly  obliterated,  never  deceives. 
Where  it  first  was  placed,  there  it  still  remains  to  tell  to  future  gene- 
rations what  at  that  spot,  at  some  previous  time,  men  thought  and  felt; 
what  their  state  of  civilization  enabled  them  to  accomplish,  and  to 
what  stage  they  had  attained  in  their  conception  of  a  God. 

Besides,  however,  the  advantages  to  be  obtained  in  an  artistic  point 
of  view  from  treating  architecture  in  a  narrative  rather  than  in  a  static 
form,  there  is,  as  pointed  out  above,  still  another,  which,  though  of 
minor  importance,  still  adds  immensely  to  tlie  interest  of  the  subject. 
It  is  that,  when  so  treated,  the  art  affords  one  of  the  clearest  and  most 
certain  tests  known  of  the  ethnographic  relations  of  people  one  to 
another.  It  may,  therefore,  be  as  well  before  proceeding  further  to 
explain  as  briefly  as  is  consistent  with  intelligibility  what  is  meant  by 
Architectural  Ethnography. 


52 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


PART  II. 

I. — Ethnography  as  applied  to  Architectural  Art. 

Ethnology,  though  one  of  the  youngest,  is  perhaps  neither  the 
least  beautiful  nor  the  least  attractive  of  that  fair  sisterhood  of  sci- 
ences, whose  birth  has  rewarded  the  patient  industry  and  inflexible 
love  of  truth  which  characterizes  the  philosophy  of  the  present  day. 
It  takes  up  the  history  of  the  world  at  the  point  where  it  is  left  by 
its  elder  sister  Geology,  and,  following  the  same  line  of  argument, 
strives  to  reduce  to  the  same  scientific  mode  of  expression  the  ap- 
parent chaos  of  facts  which  have  hitherto  been  looked  upon  as  inex- 
plicable by  the  general  observer. 

It  is  only  within  the  limits  of  the  present  century  that  Geology 
was  rescued  from  the  dreams  of  cataclysms  and  convulsions  which 
formed  the  staple  of  the  science  in  the  last  century ;  and  that  step  by 
step,  by  slow  degrees,  rocks  have  been  classified  and  phenomena  ex- 
plained. All  that  picturesque  wildness  with  which  the  materials  seemed 
at  first  sight  to  be  distributed  over  the  world's  surface  has  been  reduced 
to  order,  and  they  now  lie  arranged  as  clearly  and  as  certainly  in  the 
mind  of  a  geologist,  as  if  they  had  been  squared  by  the  tool  of  a 
mason  and  placed  in  order  by  the  hand  of  a  mechanic.  So  it  is  with 
Ethnology.  Race  has  succeeded  race  ;  —  all  have  been  disturbed,  some 
obliterated  —  many  contorted  —  and  sometimes  the  older,  apparently, 
superimposed  upon  the  newer.  All  at  first  sight  is  chaos  and  confusion, 
and  it  seems  almost  hopeless  to  attempt  to  unravel  the  mysteries  of 
the  long-forgotten  past.  It  is  true  nevertheless,  in  Ethnology,  aS  in  the 
sister  science,  that  no  change  on  the  world's  surface  has  taken  place 
without  leaving  its  mark.  A  race  may  be  obliterated,  or  only  crop  up 
at  the  edge  of  some  great  basin  of  population  ;  but  it  has  left  its  traces, 
either  as  fossil  remains  in  the  shape  of  buildings  or  works,  or  as  im- 
pressions on  language  or  on  the  arts  of  those  who  supplanted  the  per- 
ishing race.  When  these  are  read,  —  when  all  the  phenomena  are  gath- 
ered together  and  classified,  we  find  the  same  perfection  of  Order,  the 
same  beautiful  simplicity  of  law  pervading  the  same  comj^lex  variety 
of  results,  which  characterize  all  the  phenomena  of  nature,  and  the 
knowledo;e  of  which  is  the  hig-hest  reward  of  intellectual  exertion. 

Language  has  hitherto  been  the  great  instrument  of  analysis  which 
has  been  employed  to  elucidate  the  aflfiliation  of  races ;  and  the  present 
state  of  the  science  may  be  said  to  be  almost  entirely  due  to  the  acumen 


Part  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


53 


and  industry  of  learned  linguists.  Physiology  has  lent  her  aid ;  but 
the  objects  offered  for  her  examination  are  so  few,  especially  in  remote 
ages,  and  the  individual  differences  are  so  small,  as  compared  with 
the  general  resemblance,  that  in  the  present  state  of  that  science,  its 
aid  has  not  been  of  the  importance  which  it  may  fairly  be  expected 
hereafter  to  assume.  In  both  sciences  History  plays  an  important 
part :  in  Geology,  by  furnishing  analogies  witliout  which  it  would  be 
hardly  possible  to  interpret  the  facts;  in  Ethnology,  by  pointing  out 
the  direction  in  which  inquiries  should  be  made,  and  by  guiding  and 
controlling  the  conclusions  which  may  have  been  arrived  at.  With 
the  assistance  of  these  sciences.  Ethnologists  have  accomplished  a 
great  deal,  and  may  do  more ;  but  Ethnology,  based  merely  on  Lan- 
guage ^  and  Physiology,  is  like  Geology  based  only  on  Mineralogy  and 
Chemistry.  Without  Palaeontology,  that  science  would  never  have 
assumed  the  importance  or  reached  the  perfection  to  which  it  has 
now  attained ;  and  Ethnology  will  never  take  the  place  which  it  is 
really  entitled  to,  till  its  results  are  checked,  and  its  conclusions 
elucidated,  by  the  science  of  Archaeology. 

Without  the  aid  and  vivifying  influence  derived  from  the  study  of 
fossil  remains.  Geology  would  lose  half  its  value  and  more  than  half 
its  interest.  It  may  be  interesting  to  the  man  of  science  to  know  what 
rock  is  superimposed  upon  another,  and  how  and  in  what  relative 
periods  these  changes  occurred  ;  but  it  is  far  more  interesting  to  watch 
the  dawn  of  life  on  this  globe,  and  to  trace  its  development  into  the 
present  teeming  stage  of  existence.  So  it  will  be  when,  with  the  aid 
of  Archaeology,  Ethnologists  are  able  to  identify  the  various  strata  in 
which  mankind  have  been  distributed ;  to  fix  identities  of  race  from 
similarities  of  Art ;  and  to  read  the  history  of  the  past  from  the 
unconscious  testimony  of  material  remains.  When  properly  studied 
and  understood,  there  is  no  language  so  clear,  or  whose  testimony  is 
so  undoubted,  as  that  of  those  petrified  thoughts  and  feelings  which 
men  have  left  engraved  on  the  walls  of  their  temples,  or  buried  with 
them  in  the  chambers  of  their  tombs.  Unconsciously  expressed,  but 
imperishably  written,  they  are  there  to  this  hour.  Any  one  who  likes 
may  read,  and  no  one  who  can  translate  them  can  for  one  moment 
doubt  but  that  they  are  the  best,  and  frequently  the  only,  records 
that  remain  of  bygone  races. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  explain  why  ethnographers  have  not  hitherto 
considered  Archaeology  of  that  importance  to  their  researches  to  which 


\  Max  Miiller,  who  is  the  facile  prin- 
ceps  of  the  linguistic  school  in  this  coun- 
try—  in  an  inaugural  lecture  which  he 
delivered  when,  it  was  understood,  he 
was  appointed  to  a  chair  in  the  Strasburg 
University  —  gave  up  all  that  has  hither- 


to been  contended  for  by  his  followers. 
He  admitted  that  language,  though  an 
invaluable  aid,  did  not  suffice  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  investigation,  and  that  the 
results  obtained  by  its  means  were  not 
always  to  be  depended  upon. 


54 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


it  is  undoubtedly  entitled.  We  live  in  an  age  when  all  Art  is  a  chaos 
of  copying  and  confusion ;  we  are  daily  masquerading  in  the  costume 
of  every  nation  of  the  earth,  ancient  and  modern,  and  are  unable  to 
realize  that  these  dresses  in  which  we  deck  ourselves  were  once  reali- 
ties. Because  Architecture,  since  the  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  has  in  Europe  been  a  mere  hortiis  siccus  of  dried  specimens 
of  the  art  of  all  countries  and  of  all  ages,  we  cannot  feel  that,  before 
that  time.  Art  was  earnest  and  progressive  ;  and  that  men  then  did 
what  they  felt  to  be  best  and  most  appropriate,  by  the  same  processes 
by  which  Nature  works.  We  do  not  therefore  perceive  tliat,  though 
in  an  infinitely  lower  grade,  we  may  reason  of  the  works  of  man  before 
a  given  date,  with  the  same  certainty  with  which  we  can  reason  of 
those  of  Nature.  When  this  great  fact  is  once  recognized  —  and  it  is 
indisputable  —  Archaeology  and  Palaeontology  take  their  places  side 
by  side,  as  the  guiding  and  vivifying  elements  in  the  sister  sciences 
of  Ethnology  and  Geology,  and  give  to  each  of  these  a  value  they 
could  never  otherwise  attain. 

As  may  well  be  expected,  however,  when  Archaeology  is  employed 
to  aid  in  these  researches,  results  are  frequently  arrived  at,  which  at 
first  sight  are  discrepant  from  those  to  wliich  the  study  of  language 
alone  has  hitherto  led  scientific  men.  But  this  is  no  proof  either  of 
the  truth  or  falsehood  of  the  conclusions  arrived  at,  or  of  the  value 
or  worthlessness  of  the  processes  employed.  Both  are  essential  to 
the  question  of  knowledge,  and  it  is  by  a  skilful  balancing  of  both 
classes  of  evidence  that  truth  is  ultimately  arrived  at. 

It  would  be  out  of  place  to  attempt  in  an  introduction  like  the 
present  anything  approaching  to  a  complete  investigation  of  this  sub- 
ject. Nor  is  it  necessary.  The  various  ethnographic  relations  of  one 
style  to  another  will  be  pointed  out  as  they  arise  in  the  course  of  the 
narrative,  and  their  influence  traced  to  such  an  extent  as  may  be  neces- 
sary to  render  tliem  intelligible.  But  for  the  same  reasons  which  made 
it  expedient  to  try,  in  the  preceding  pages,  to  define  the  meaning  of 
the  term  architecture,  and  to  point  out  its  position  and  limits,  it  is 
believed  that  it  will  add  to  the  clearness  of  what  follows  if  the  typical 
characteristics  of  the  principal  races  ^  of  mankind  with  whom  the  narra- 
tive deals,  are  first  defined  as  clearly,  though  as  succinctly  as  possible 

As  the  object  of  introducing  the  subject  here  is  not  to  write  an 


1  The  term  ''Persistent  Varieties" 
has  recently  been  introduced,  instead  of 
"race,"  in  ethnological  nomenclature, 
and,  if  scientific  accuracy  is  aimed  at, 
is  no  doubt  an  improvement.  It  is  an 
advantage  to  have  a  term  which  does 
not  even  in  appearance  prejudge  any  of 


the  questions  between  the  monogenists 
and  polygenists,  and  leaves  undecided 
all  the  questions  how  the  variations  of 
mankind  arose.  But  it  sounds  pedantic : 
and  "  race  "  may  be  understood  as  mean- 
ing the  same  thing. 


Part  11. 


INTRODUCTION. 


55 


essay  on  Ethnology,  but  to  render  the  history  of  Architecture  interest- 
ing and  intelligible,  it  may  be  expedient  to  avoid  all  speculation  as  to 
the  origin  of  mankind,  or  the  mode  in  which  the  various  races  diverged 
from  one  another  and  became  so  markedly  distinct.  Stretch  the  history 
of  Architecture  as  we  will,  we  cannot  get  beyond  the  epoch  of  the 
Pyramid  builders  (3500  b.c),  and  when  these  were  erected  the  various 
races  of  mankind  had  acquired  those  distinctive  characteristics  which 
mark  them  now.  Not  long  afterwards,  when  the  tombs  at  Beni 
Hassan  were  painted  (2500  b.c),  these  distinctions  were  so  marked 
and  so  well  understood,  that  these  pictures  might  serve  for  the  illus- 
tration of  a  book  on  Ethnography  at  the  present  day.  Nor  will  it  be 
necessary  in  this  preliminary  sketch  to  attempt  more  than  to  point 
out  the  typical  features  of  the  four  great  building  races  of  mankind, 
the  Turanian,  the  Semitic,  the  Celtic,  and  the  Aryan.  Even  with 
regard  to  these,  all  that  will  be  necessary  will  be  to  point  out  the 
typical  characteristics  without  even  attempting  to  define  too  accu- 
rately their  boundaries,  and  leaving  the  minuter  gradations  to  be 
developed  in  the  sequel. 

The  one  great  fact  which  it  is  essential  to  insist  on  here  is,  that  if 
we  do  not  take  into  account  its  connection  with  Ethnography,  the  His- 
tory of  Architecture  is  a  mere  dry,  hard  recapitulation  of  uninteresting 
facts  and  terms;  but  when  its  relation  to  the  world's  history  is  under- 
stood, —  when  we  read  in  their  buildings  the  feelings  and  aspirations  of 
the  people  who  erected  them,  and  above  all  through  their  arts  we  can 
trace  their  relationship  to,  and  their  descent  from  one  another,  the 
study  becomes  one  of  the  most  interesting,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
useful  which  can  be  presented  to  an  inquiring  mind. 

n.  — TURANIAN. 

The  result  of  recent  researches  has  enabled  the  ethnographer  to 
divide  and  arrange  prehistoric  man  into  three  great  groups  or  periods, 
which  in  Europe  at  least  seem  to  have  succeeded  to  one  another ; 
though  at  what  time  has  not  yet  been  determined  even  approximately  ; 
nor  is  it  known  how  long  any  of  the  three  subsisted  before  it  was 
superseded  by  the  next,  nor  how  far  the  one  overlapped  the  other,  or 
indeed,  whether,  as  was  almost  certainly  the  case,  at  some  time  all 
three  may  not  have  subsisted  together. 

The  first  is  called  the  Stone  age,  from  the  rude  race  who  then 
peopled  Europe  having  no  knowledge  of  the  use  of  metals.  All  the 
cutting  parts  of  their  implements  were  formed  of  flint  or  other  hard 
stones,  probably  fitted  wdth  wooden  or  bone  handles,  and  used  as  tools 
of  these  materials. 

These  were  succeeded  by  a  people  having  a  knowledge  of  the  use  of 
copper  and  tin,  with  the  possession  of  gold,  and  perhaps  silver.  Their 
principal  weapons  and  tools  were  formed  of  a  compound  of  the  two 


56 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  II. 


first-named  metals  ;  and  their  age  has  consequently  been  called  the  age 
of  Bronze. 

Both  these  were  superseded,  perhaps  in  historic  times,  by  a  people 
having  a  knowledge  of  the  properties  and  use  of  Iron.  Hence  their 
epoch  came  to  be  distinguished  by  the  name  of  that  metal. 

There  seems  no  doubt  but  that  the  people  of  the  Stone  age  were 
generally,  if  not  exclusively,  of  that  great  family  which  we  now  know 
as  the  Turanian. 

The  race  who  introduced  bronze  seem  to  have  been  the  ancestors  of 
the  Celtic  races  who  afterwards  peopled  so  large  a  portion  of  Europe. 

The  Aryans  were  those  who  introduced  the  use  of  iron,  and  with  it 
dominated  over  and  expelled  the  older  races. 

If  any  prehistoric  traces  of  the  Semitic  races  are  to  be  found,  they 
must  be  looked  for  in  Western  Asia  or  in  Africa :  they  certainly  had 
no  settlements  in  Europe. 

Further  researches  may  perhaps  at  some  future  time  enable  us  to 
fix  approximate  dates  to  these  various  migrations.  At  present  we 
know  that  men  using  flint  instruments  lived  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Garonne  and  Dordogne  when  the  climate  of  the  south  of  France  was 
as  cold  as  that  of  Lapland,  or  perhaps  Greenland ;  when  the  reindeer 
was  their  ])rincipal  domestic  animal,  and  the  larger  animals  of  the 
country  belonged  to  species  many  of  which  had  ceased  to  inhabit 
those  regions  before  the  dawn  of  history.  On  the  other  hand,  we  may 
assert  with  certainty  that  the  climate  of  Egypt  has  not  varied  since 
the  age  of  the  Pyramid  builders ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  history 
of  either  Greece  or  Italy  that  would  lead  us  to  believe  that  any 
remarkable  alteration  in  the  climate  of  these  countries  has  taken  place 
in  historic  times. 

These  questions,  however,  hardly  come  within  the  scope  of  the 
present  work.  The  men  of  the  Stone  age  have  left  nothing  which  can 
be  styled  architecture,  unless  we  include  in  that  term  the  rude  tumuli 
of  earth  with  which  they  covered  the  remains  of  their  dead.  It  is 
also  extremely  uncertain  if  we  can  identify  any  building  of  stone  as 
belonging  certainly  to  the  age  of  Bronze.  All  the  rude  cromlechs, 
dolmens,  menhirs,  &c.,  which  usher  in  the  early  dawn  of  civilization 
in  Europe,  belong  it  is  true  to  the  earlier  races,  but  seem  to  have  been 
erected  by  them  at  a  time  when  the  Aiyan  races  had  taught  them  the 
use  of  iron,  and  they  had  learnt  to  appreciate  the  value  of  stone  as  a 
monumental  record.  This,  however,  was  at  a  period  long  subsequent 
to  the  use  of  iron  in  Egypt  and  the  East,  and  long  after  architecture 
had  attained  maturity ;  and  its  history  became  easily  and  distinctly 
legible  in  the  Valley  of  the  Nile.i 

1  The  whole  of  this  subject  has  been 
carefully  gone  into  by  the  author  in  a 
work   entitled    ' '  Rude   Stone  Monu- 


ments," published  in  1872,  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred. 


Part  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


57 


The  great  feature  in  the  liistory  of  the  Turanian  races  is  that  they 
were  the  first  to  people  the  wliole  world  beyond  the  limits  of  tlie 
original  cradle  of  mankind.  Like  the  primitive  unstratified  rocks  of 
geologists,  they  form  the  substructure  of  the  whole  world,  frequently 
rising  into  the  highest  and  most  prominent  peaks,  sometimes  over- 
flowing whole  districts  and  occupying  a  vast  poi-tion  of  the  world's 
surface;  —  everywhere  underlying  all  the  others,  and  affording  their 
disintegrated  materials  to  form  the  more  recent  strata  that  now  over- 
lie and  frequently  obliterate  them,  —  in  appearance,  at  least. 

In  the  old  world  the  typical  Turanians  were  the  Egyptians ;  in 
the  modern  the  Chinese  and  Japanese ;  and  to  these  we  are  perhaps 
justified  in  adding  the  Mexicans.  If  this  last  adscription  stands 
good,  we  have  at  three  nearly  equidistant  points  (120  degrees  apart) 
on  the  earth's  surface,  and  under  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  the  three  great 
culminating  points  of  this  form  of  civilization.  The  outlying  strata 
in  Asia  are  the  Tamuls,  who  now  occupy  the  whole  of  the  south  of 
India,  and  all  the  races  now  existing  in  the  countries  between  India 
and  China.  The  Turanians  existed  in  the  Valley  of  the  Euphrates 
before  the  Semitic  or  Aryan  races  came  there.  The  Tunguses  in  the 
north  are  Turanians,  and  so  are  the  Mongols,  the  Turks,  and  all  those 
tribes  generally  described  as  Tartars. 

In  Europe  the  oldest  people  of  this  family  we  are  acquainted  with 
are  the  Pelasgi  and  Etruscans,  but  the  race  also  crops  up  in  the  Mag- 
yars, the  Finns,  the  Lapps,  and  in  odd  broken  fragments  here  and 
there,  but  everywhere  overpowered  by  the  more  civilized  Aryans, 
who  succeeded  and  have  driven  them  into  the  remotest  corners  of 
the  continent. 

In  Africa  they  have  been  almost  as  completely  overpowered  by  the 
Semitic  race,  and  in  America  are  now  being  everywhere  as  entirely 
overwhelmed  as  they  were  in  Europe  by  the  Aryan  races,  and  in  all 
probability  must  eventually  disappear  altogether. 

Even  if  the  linguist  should  hesitate  to  affirm  that  all  their  lan- 
guages can  be  traced  to  a  common  root,  or  present  sufficient  affinities 
for  a  classification,  the  general  features  of  the  races  enumerated 
above  are  so  alike  the  one  to  the  other,  that,  for  all  real  ethnographic 
purposes,  they  may  certainly  be  considered  as  belonging  to  one  great 
group.  Whether  nearly  obliterated,  as  they  are  in  most  .parts  of 
Europe,  or  whether  they  still  retain  their  nationality,  as  in  the 
eastern  parts  of  Asia,  they  always  appear  as  the  earliest  of  races, 
and  everywhere  present  peculiarities  of  feeling  and  civilization  easily 
recognized,  and  which  distinguish  them  from  all  the  other  races  of 
mankind. 

If  they  do  not  all  speak  cognate  languages,  or  if  we  cannot  now 
trace  their  linguistic  affinities,  we  must  not  too  readily  assume  that 
therefore  they  are  distinct  the  one  from  the  other.    It  must  be  more 


58 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


I'Aur  II. 


philosophical  to  believe,  what  probably  is  the  case,  that  the  one  in^ 
strument  of  analysis  we  have  hitherto  used  is  not  sufficient  for  the 
purpose,  and  we  ought  consequently  to  welcome  every  other  process 
which  will  throw  further  light  on  the  subject. 

Religion  of  the  Turanians. 

It  is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  assert  that  no  Turanian  race  ever 
rose  to  the  idea  of  a  God  external  to  the  world.  All  their  ffods  were 
men  who  had  lived  with  them  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  In  the  old 
world  they  were  kings, — men  who  had  acquired  fame  from  the  extent 
of  tlieir  power,  or  greatness  from  their  wisdom.  Tlie  Buddhist  reform 
taught  the  Turanian  races  that  virtue,  not  power,  w  as  true  greatness, 
and  that  the  humblest  as  well  as  the  highest  might  attain  beatitude 
through  the  practice  of  piety. 

All  the  Turanians  have  a  distinct  idea  of  rewards  and  punishments 
after  deatli,  and  generally  also  of  a  preparatory  purgatory  by  trans- 
migration through  the  bodies  of  animals,  clean  or  unclean  according 
to  the  actions  of  the  defunct  s|)irit,  but  always  ending  in  another 
world.  AVith  some  races  transmigration  becomes  nearly  all  in  all;  in 
others  it  is  nearly  evanescent,  and  Heaven  and  Hell  take  its  place ; 
but  the  two  are  essentially  doctrines  of  this  race. 

From  the  fact  of  their  gods  having  been  only  ordinary  mortals, 
and  all  men  being  able  to  aspire  to  the  godhead,  their  form  of  worship 
was  essentially  anthropic  and  ancestral ;  their  temples  were  palaces, 
where  the  gods  sat  on  thrones  and  received  petitions  and  dispensed 
justice  as  in  life,  and  wdiere  men  paid  that  homage  to  the  image  of 
the  dead  which  they  would  have  paid  to  the  living  king.  They  were 
in  fact  the  iflolaters,  ^^ar  excellence.  Their  tombs  were  even  more 
sacred  than  their  temples,  and  their  reverence  was  more  frequently 
directed  to  the  remains  of  their  ancestors  than  to  the  images  of  their 
gods.  Hence  arose  that  reverence  for  relics  which  formed  so  marked 
a  feature  in  tlieir  ritual  in  all  ages,  and  which  still  prevails  among 
many  races  almost  in  the  direct  ratio  in  which  Turanian  blood  can  be 
traced  in  their  veins. 

Unable  to  rise  above  humanity  in  their  conceptions  of  the  deity, 
they  worshipped  all  material  things.  Trees  with  them  in  all  times 
were  objects  of  veneration,  and  of  especial  w^orship  in  particular  local- 
ities. The  mysterious  serpent  was  with  them  a  god,  and  the  bull  in 
most  Turanian  countries  a  being  to  be  worshij^ped.  The  sun,  the 
moon,  the  stars,  all  filled  niches  in  their  Pantheon  ;  in  fact,  whatever 
they  saw  they  believed  in,  whatever  they  could  not  comprehend  they 
worshipped.  They  cared  not  to  inquire  beyond  the  evidence  of  their 
senses,  and  were  incapable  of  abstracting  their  conceptions.  To  the 
Turanians  also  is  due  that  peculinr  reverence  for  localities  made 


Pakt  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


59 


celebrated  by  great  historical  events,  or  rendered  sacred  by  being 
the  scene  of  great  religious  events,  and  hence  to  them  must  be 
ascribed  the  origin  of  pilgrimages  and  all  their  concomitant  adjuncts 
and  ceremonies. 

It  is  to  this  race,  also,  that  we  owe  the  existence  of  human  sacrifices. 
Always  fatalists,  always  and  everywhere  indifferent  of  life,  and  never 
fearing  death,  these  sacrifices  never  were  to  them  so  terrible  as  they 
appear  to  more  highly  organized  races.  Thus  a  child,  a  relative,  or  a 
friend,  was  the  most  precious,  and  consequently  the  most  acceptable 
offering  a  man  could  bring  to  appease  the  wrath  or  propitiate  the 
favor  of  a  god  who  had  been  human,  and  who  was  supposed  to  have 
retained  all  the  feelings  of  humanity  forever  afterwards. 

It  is  easy  to  trace  their  Tree  and  Serpent  worship  in  every  corner 
of  the  old  world  from  Anuradhpura  in  Ceylon,  to  Upsala  in  Sweden. 
Their  tombs  and  tumuli  exist  everywhere.  Their  ancestral  worship 
is  the  foundation  at  the  present  day  of  half  the  popular  creeds  of  the 
world,  and  the  planets  have  hardly  ceased  to  be  worshipped  at  the 
present  hour.  Most  of  the  more  salient  peculiarities  of  this  faith  were 
softened  down  by  the  great  Buddhist  reform  in  the  sixth  century  B.C., 
and  that  refinement  of  their  rude  primitive  belief  has  been  adopted  by 
most  of  the  Turanian  people  of  the  modern  world,  and  is  now  almost 
exclusively  the  appanage  of  people  having  Turanian^  blood  in  their 
veins.  Even,  however,  tlirough  the  gloss  of  their  Buddhist  refinements 
we  can  still  discern  most  of  the  old  forms  of  faith,  and  even  its  most 
devoted  votaries  are  yet  hardly  more  than  half  converted. 

Government. 

The  only  form  of  government  ever  adopted  by  any  people  of 
Turanian  race  was  tliat  of  absolute  despotism, — with  a  tribe,  a 
chief,  —  in  a  kingdom,  a  despot.  In  highly  civilized  communities, 
like  those  of  Egypt  and  China,  their  despotism  was  tempered  by 
bureaucratic  forms,  but  the  chief  was  always  as  absolute  as  a  Timour 
or  an  Attila,  though  not  always  strong  enough  to  use  his  power  as 
terribly  as  they  did.  Their  laws  were  real  or  traditional  edicts  of 
their  kings,  seldom  written,  and  never  administered  according  to  any 
fixed  form  of  procedure. 

As  a  consequence  or  a  cause  of  this,  the  Turanian  race  are  abso^ 
lutely  casteless  ;  no  hereditary  nobility,  no  caste  of  priests  ever  existed 
among  them  ;  between  the  ruler  and  the  people  there  could  be  nothing, 
and  every  one  might  aspire  equally  to  all  the  honors  of  the  State,  or 
to  the  highest  dignity  of  the  priesthood.  "  La  carriere  ouverte  aux 
talens,"  is  essentially  the  motto  of  these  races,  or  of  those  allied  to 
them,  and  whether  it  was  the  slave  of  a  Pharaoh,  or  the  pipe-bearer  of 
a  Turkish  sultan,  every  office  except  the  throne  is  and  always  was 


60 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  H. 


open  to  the  ambitious.  No  republic,  no  limited  monarchy,  ever  arose 
among  them.  Despotism  pure  and  simple  is  all  they  ever  knew,  or 
are  even  now  capable  of  appreciating. 

Morals. 

Woman  among  the  Turanian  races  was  never  regarded  otherwise 
than  as  the  helpmate  of  the  poor  and  the  plaything  of  the  rich ;  born 
to  work  for  the  lower  classes  and  to  administer  to  the  gratification  of 
the  higher.  No  equality  of  rights  or  position  was  ever  dreamt  of,  and 
the  consequence  was  polyandry  where  people  were  poor  and  women 
scarce,  and  polygamy  where  wealth  and  luxury  prevailed ;  and  with 
these,  it  need  hardly  be  added,  a  loss  of  half  those  feelings  which  en- 
noble man  or  make  life  valuable. 

Neither  loving  nor  beloved  in  the  bosom  of  his  own  family,  —  too 
much  of  a  fatalist  to  care  for  the  future,  —  neither  enjoying  life  nor 
fearing  death,  —  the  Turanian  is  generally  free  from  those  vices  which 
contaminate  more  active  minds ;  he  remains  sober,  temperate,  truthful, 
and  kindly  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  If,  however,  he  has  few  vices,  he 
has  fewer  virtues,  and  both  are  far  more  passive  than  active  in  their 
nature,  —  in  fact,  approach  more  nearly  to  the  instincts  of  the  lower 
animals  than  to  the  intellectual  responsibilities  of  the  highest  class  of 
minds. 

Literature. 

No  Turanian  race  ever  distinguished  itself  in  literature,  properly 
so  called.  They  all  possessed  annals,  because  they  loved  to  record  the 
names,  the  dates,  and  the  descent  of  their  ancestors ;  but  these  never 
rose  to  the  dignity  of  history  even  in  its  simplest  form.  Prose  they 
could  hardly  write,  because  none  of  the  greater  groups  ever  appre- 
ciated the  value  of  an  alphabet.  Hieroglypliics,  signs,  symbols,  any- 
thing sufficed  for  their  simple  intellectual  wants,  and  they  preferred 
trusting  to  memory  to  remember  what  a  sign  stood  for,  rather  than 
exercise  their  intellect  to  compound  or  analyze  a  complex  alphabetical 
arrangement.  Their  system  of  poetry  helped  them,  to  some  extent, 
over  the  difficulty;  and,  with  a  knowledge  of  the  metre,  a  few 
suggestive  signs  enabled  the  reader  to  remember  at  least  a  lyric 
composition.  But  without  a  complex  grammar  to  express  and  an 
alphabet  to  record  their  conceptions,  it  is  hopeless  to  expect  that  either 
Epic  or  Dramatic  Poetry  could  flourish,  still  less  that  a  prose  narrative 
of  any  extent  could  be  remembered  ;  and  philosophy,  beyond  the  use 
of  proverbs,  was  out  of  the  question. 

In  their  most  advanced  stages  tliey  have,  like  the  Chinese,  invented 
syllabaria  of  hideous  complexity,  and  have  even  borrowed  alphabets 
from  their  more  advanced  neighbors.    By  some  it  is  supposed  that 


Part  II. 


INTIiODUCTlON. 


61 


they  have  even  invented  them ;  but  thougli  they  have  thus  got  over 
the  mechanical  difficulties  of  the  case,  their  intellectual  condition 
remains  the  same,  and  they  have  never  advanced  beyond  the  merest 
rudiments  of  a  literature,  and  have  never  mastered  even  the  elements 
of  any  scientific  philosophy. 

Arts. 

If  so  singularly  deficient  in  the  phonetic  modes  of  literary  expres- 
sion, the  Turanian  races  made  up  for  it  to  a  great  extent  in  the 
excellence  they  attained  in  most  of  the  branches  of  aesthetic  art.  As 
architects  they  were  unsurpassed,  and  in  Egyjjt  alone  have  left 
monuments  which  are  still  the  world's  wonder.  The  Tamul  race 
in  Southern,  the  Moguls  in  Northern  India,  in  Burmah,  in  China,^ 
and  in  Mexico,  wherever  these  races  are  found,  they  have  raised 
monuments  of  dimensions  unsurpassed ;  and,  considering  the  low 
state  of  civilization  in  which  they  often  existed,  displaying  a  degree 
of  taste  and  skill  as  remarkable  as  it  is  unexpected. 

In  consequence  of  the  circumstance  above  mentioned  of  their  gods 
having  been  kings,  and  after  death  still  only  considered  as  watching 
over  and  influencing  the  destiny  of  mankind,  their  temples  were  only 
exaggerated  palaces,  containing  halls,  and  chambers,  and  thrones,  and 
all  the  appurtenances  required  by  the  living,  but  on  a  scale  befitting 
the  celestial  character  now  acquired.  So  much  is  this  the  case  in 
Egypt  that  we  hardly  know  by  which  name  to  designate  them,  and 
the  same  remark  applies  to  all. 

Even  more  sacred,  however,  than  their  temples  were  tlieir  tombs. 
Wherever  a  Turanian  race  exists  or  existed,  there  their  tombs  remain; 
and  from  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt  to  the  mausoleum  of  Hyder  Ali,  the 
last  Tartar  king  in  India,  they  form  the  most  remarkable  series  of 
monuments  the  world  possesses,  and  all  were  built  by  people  of 
Turanian  race.  No  Semite  and  no  Aryan  ever  built  a  tomb  that 
could  last  a  century  or  was  worthy  to  remain  so  long. 

The  Buddhist  reform  altered  the  funereal  tumulus  into  a  relic 
shrine,  modifying  this,  as  it  did  most  of  the  Turanian  forms  of 
utterance,  from  a  literal  to  a  somewhat  more  spiritual  form  of  ex- 
pression, but  leaving  the  meaning  the  same,  —  the  Tope  being  still 
essentially  a  Tomb. 

Combined  with  that  wonderful  appreciation  of  form  which  charac- 
terizes all  the  architectural  works  of  the  Turanians,  they  possessed 
an  extraordinary  passion  for  colored  decoration  and  an  instinctive 
knowledge  of  the  harmony  of  colors.  They  used  throughout  the 
primitive  colors  in  all  their  elemental  crudeness ;  and  though  always 
brilliant,  are  never  vulgar,  and  are  guiltless  of  any  mistake  in 
harmony.    From  the  first  dawn  of  painting  in  Egypt  to  the  last 


62  HISTOKY  OF  ARCHITECTURE.  Pakt  II. 

signboard  in  Constantinople  or  Canton,  it  is  always  the  same  —  the 
same  brilliancy  and  harmony  produced  by  the  simplest  means. 

In  sculpture  they  were  not  so  fortunate.  Having  no  explanatory 
literature  to  which  to  refer,  it  was  necessary  that  their  statues  should 
tell  their  whole  tale  themselves  ;  and  sculpture  does  not  lend  itself  to 
this  so  readily  as  painting.  With  them  it  is  not  sufficient  that  a  god 
should  be  colossal,  he  must  be  symbolical ;  he  must  have  more  arms 
and  legs  or  more  heads  than  common  men ;  he  must  have  wings  and 
attributes  of  power,  or  must  combine  the  strength  of  a  lion  or  a  bull 
with  the  intellect  of  humanity.  The  statue  must,  in  short,  tell  the 
whole  story  itself ;  and  where  this  is  attempted  the  result  can  only 
be  pleasing  to  the  narrow  faith  of  the  unreflecting  devotee.  So  far 
from  being  able  to  express  more  than  humanity,  sculpture  must  attempt 
even  less  if  it  would  be  successful ;  but  this  of  course  rendered  it 
useless  for  the  purposes  to  which  the  Turanians  wished  to  apply  it. 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  painting,  properly  so  called.  This 
never  can  attain  its  highest  developement  except  when  it  is  the 
exponent  of  phonetic  utterances.  In  Greek  the  painter  strove  only 
to  give  form  and  substance  to  the  more  purely  intellectual  creation 
of  the  poet,  and  could  consequently  dispense  with  all  but  the  highest 
elements  of  his  art.  In  Egypt  the  picture  was  all  in  all ;  it  had  no 
text  to  refer  to,  and  must  tell  the  whole  tale  with  all  its  adjuncts,  in 
simple  intelligible  prose,  or  be  illegible,  and  the  consequence  is  that 
the  story  is  told  with  a  clearness  that  charms  us  even  now.  It  is, 
however,  only  a  story ;  and,  like  everything  else  Turanian,  howevei 
great  or  wonderful,  its  greatness  and  its  wonder  are  of  a  lower  clasf 
and  less  intellectual  than  the  utterances  of  the  other  great  divisiom 
of  the  human  family. 

We  have  scarcely  the  means  of  knowing  whether  any  Turaniai 
race  ever  successfully  cultivated  music  to  any  extent.  It  is  mon 
than  probable  that  all  their  families  can  and  always  could  appreciate 
the  harmony  of  musical  intervals,  and  might  be  charmed  with  simph- 
cadences;  but  it  is  nearly  certain  that  a  peoj^le  who  did  not  possess 
phonetic  poetry  could  never  rise  to  that  higher  class  of  music  which 
is  now  carried  to  such  a  pitch  of  perfection,  that  harmonic  combina- 
tions almost  supply  the  place  of  phonetic  expression  and  influence  the 
feelings  and  passions  to  almost  the  same  extent. 

There  is  also  this  further  peculiarity  about  their  arts,  that  they 
seem  always  more  instinctive  than  intellectual,  and  consequently  are 
incapable  of  that  progress  which  distinguishes  most  of  the  works  of 
man.  At  the  first  dawn  of  art  in  Egypt,  in  the  age  of  the  Pyramid 
builders,  all  the  arts  were  as  perfect  and  as  complete  as  they  were 
when  the  country  fell  under  the  domination  of  the  Romans.  The 
earliest  works  in  China  are  as  perfect  —  in  some  respects  more  so  — 
as  those  of  to-day ;  and  in  Mexico,  so  soon  as  a  race  of  red  savages 


Part  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


63 


peopled  a  country  so  densely  as  to  require  art  and  to  appreciate 
magnificence,  the  arts  sprang  up  among  them  with  as  much  per- 
fection, we  may  fairly  assume,  as  they  would  have  attained  had  they 
been  practised  for  thousands  of  years  under  the  same  circumstances 
and  uninfluenced  by  foreigners.  It  is  even  more  startling  to  find  that 
the  arts  of  the  savages  who  inhabited  the  south  of  France,  on  the 
skirts  of  the  glacial  period,  are  identical  with  those  of  the  Esquimaux 
of  the  present  day,  and  even  at  that  early  time  attained  a  degree  of 
perfection  which  is  startling,  and  could  hardly  be  surpassed  by  any 
people  in  the  same  condition  of  life  at  the  jjresent  day. 

Sciences. 

There  is  no  reason  to  su])pose  that  any  people  occupying  so  low 
a  position  in  the  intellectual  scale  could  ever  cultivate  anything 
approaching  to  abstract  science,  and  there  is  no  proof  of  it  existing. 
Living,  however,  as  they  did,  on  the  verge  of  the  tropics,  in  tlie 
most  beautiful  climates  of  the  world,  and  where  the  sky  is  generally 
serene  and  unclouded,  it  was  impossible  but  that  they  should  become 
to  some  extent  astronomers. 

It  is  not  known  that  any  of  them  ever  formed  any  theory  to 
account  for  the  phenomena  they  observed,  but  tliey  seem  to  have 
watched  the  paths  of  the  planets,  to  have  recorded  eclipses,  and 
generally  to  have  noted  times  and  events  with  such  correctness  as 
enabled  them  to  predict  their  return  with  very  considerable  pre- 
cision ;  but  here  their  science  stopped,  and  it  is  not  known  that  they 
ever  attempted  any  other  of  the  multifarious  branches  of  modern 
knowledge. 

We  have  only  very  imperfect  means  of  knowing  what  their 
agriculture  was  ;  but  it  seems  always  to  liave  been  careful  when 
once  they  passed  from  the  shepherd  state,  though  whether  scientific 
or  not  it  is  not  easy  to  say.  On  tlie  jioint  of  artificial  irrigation  the 
Turanians  have  always  been  singularly  expert.  Wherever  you  follow 
their  traces,  the  existence  of  a  tunnel  is  almost  as  certain  an  indica- 
tion of  their  j^re-existence  as  that  of  a  tomb.  It  is  amusing,  as  it  is 
instructive,  to  see  at  this  hour  an  Arab  Pacha  breaking  down  in  his 
attempt  to  restol'e  the  irrigation  works  of  the  old  Pharaohs,  or  an 
English  Engineer  officer  blundering  in  his  endeavors  to  copy  the 
works  instinctively  performed  by  a  Mogul,  or  a  Spaniard  trying  to 
drain  the  lakes  of  Mexico.  Building  and  irrigation  were  the  special 
instincts  of  this  old  people,  and  the  practical  intellect  of  the  higher 
races  seems  hardly  yet  to  have  come  up  to  the  point  where  these  arts 
Avere  left  by  the  early  Turanian  races,  while  the  perfection  they  attained 
in  them  is  the  more  singular  from  the  contrast  it  affords  to  what  they 
did,  or  rather,  did  not  do,  in  other  branches  of  art  or  science. 


64 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


III. —  SEMITIC  RACES. 

From  the  extraordinary  influence  the  Semitic  races  have  had  in 
the  religious  development  of  mankind,  we  are  apt  to  consider  them  as 
politically  more  important  than  they  really  ever  were.  At  no  period 
of  their  history  do  they  seem  to  have  numbered  more  than  twenty  or 
thirty  millions  of  souls.  The  principal  locality  in  which  they  developed 
themselves  was  the  small  track  of  country  between  the  Tigris,  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  Red  Sea ;  but  they  also  existed  as  a  separate 
race  in  Abyssinia,  and  extended  their  colonies  along  the  northern 
coast  of  Africa.  Their  intellectual  development  has  been  in  all  ages 
so  superior  to  that  of  the  Turanian  races,  that  they  have  subdued  them 
mentally  wherever  they  came  in  contact  with  them ;  and  notwith- 
standing their  limited  geographical  extension,  they  have  influenced 
the  intellect  of  the  Aryan  tribes  to  a  greater  extent  than  almost  any  of 
their  own  congeners. 

If  anything  were  required  to  justify  the  ethnographer  in  treating 
the  various  families  of  mankind  as  distinct  and  separate  varieties,  it 
would  be  the  study  of  the  history  of  the  Semitic  race.  What  they 
were  in  the  time  of  Abraham,  that  they  are  at  the  present  day.  A  large 
section  of  them  sojourned  in  Egypt,  among  peoj)le  of  a  different  race, 
and  they  came  out  as  unmixed  as  oil  would  do  that  is  floated  on  water. 
For  the  last  two  thousand  years  they  have  dwelt  dispersed  among  the 
Gentiles,  without  a  nationality,  almost  without  a  common  language, 
yet  they  remain  the  same  in  feature,  the  same  in  intellectual  develop- 
ment and  feeling,  they  exhibit  the  same  undying  repugnance  to  all 
except  those  of  their  own  blood,  which  characterized  the  Arab  and  the 
Jew  when  we  first  recognize  their  names  in  history.  So  unchangeable 
are  they  in  this  respect,  that  it  seems  in  vain  to  try  to  calculate  how 
long  this  people  must  have  lived  by  themselves,  separated  from  other 
races,  that  they  should  have  thus  acquired  that  distinctive  fixity  of 
character  nothing  can  alter  or  obliterate,  and  which  is  perhaps  even 
more  wonderful  intellectually  than  are  the  woolly  hair  and  physical 
characteristics  of  the  negro,  though  not  so  obvious  to  the  superficial 
observer. 

Religion. 

From  the  circumstance  of  our  possessing  a  complete  series  of  the 
religious  literature  of  the  Semitic  race,  extending  over  the  two  thousand 
years  which  elapsed  between  Moses  and  Mahomet,  we  are  enabled  to 
speak  on  this  point  with  more  precision  than  we  can  regarding  the 
doctrines  of  almost  any  other  people. 

The  great  and  distinguishing  tenet  of  this  race  when  pure  is  and 
always  seems  to  have  been  the  unity  of  God,  and  his  not  being  born  of 
man.    Unlike  the  gods  of  the  Turanians,  their  Deity  never  was  man, 


Part  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


65 


never  reigned  or  lived  on  earth,  but  was  the  Creator  and  Preserver  of 
the  universe,  living  before  all  time,  and  extending  beyond  all  space ; 
tliough  it  must  be  confessed  they  have  not  always  expressed  this  idea 
with  the  purity  and  distinctness  which  might  be  desired. 

It  is  uncertain  how  far  they  adhered  to  this  purity  of  belief  in 
Assyria,  where  they  were  more  mixed  up  with  other  races  than  they 
have  ever  been  before  or  since.  In  Syria,  where  they  were  super- 
imposed upon  and  mixed  with  a  people  of  Turanian  origin,  they 
occasionally  Avorshipped  stones  and  groves,  serpents,  and  even  bulls ; 
but  they  inevitably  oscillated  back  to  the  true  faith  and  retained  it  to 
the  last.  In  Arabia,  after  they  became  dominant,  they  cast  off  their 
Turanian  idolatries,  and  rallied  as  one  man  to  the  watchword  of  their 
race,  "There  is  no  God  but  God,"  expressed  with  a  clearness  that 
nothing  can  obscure,  and  clung  to  it  with  a  tenacity  that  nothing 
could  shake  or  change.  Since  then  they  have  never  represented  God 
as  man,  and  hardly  ever  looked  upon  Him  as  actuated  by  the  feelings 
of  humanity. 

The  channel  of  communication  between  God  and  man  has  always 
been,  wdth  all  the  Semitic  races,  by  means  of  prophecy.  Prophets  are 
sent,  or  are  inspired,  by  God,  to  communicate  His  will  to  man,  to  pro- 
pound His  laws,  and  sometimes  to  foretell  events ;  but  in  all  instances 
without  losing  their  character  as  men,  or  becoming  more  than  mes- 
sengers for  the  special  service  for  which  they  are  sent. 

With  the  Jews,  but  with  them  only,  does  there  seem  to  have  been 
a  priest  caste  set  aside  for  the  special  service  of  God ;  not  selected 
from  all  the  people,  as  would  have  been  the  case  with  the  casteless 
Turanians,  but  deriving  their  sanctity  from  descent,  as  would  have 
been  the  case  with  the  Aryans ;  still  they  differed  from  the  Aryan 
institution  inasmuch  as  the  Levites  always  retained  the  characteristics 
of  a  tribe,  and  never  approached  the  form  of  an  aristocracy.  They 
may  therefore  be  considered  ethnographically  as  an  intermediate  insti- 
tution, partaking  of  the  characteristics  of  the  other  two  races. 

The  one  point  in  which  the  Semitic  form  of  religion  seems  to  come 
in  contact  with  the  Turanian  is  that  of  sacrifice  —  human,  in  early 
times  perhaps,  even  till  the  time  of  Abraham,  but  afterwards  only 
of  oxen  and  sheep  and  goats  in  hecatombs ;  and  this  apparently 
not  among  the  Arabs,  but  only  with  the  Jews  and  the  less  pure 
Phcenicians. 

From  their  having  no  human  gods  they  avoided  all  the  palatial 
temples  or  ceremonial  forms  of  idolatrous  worship.  Strictly  speaking, 
they  have  no  temples.  There  was  one  holy  place  in  the  old  world, 
the  Hill  of  Zion  at  Jerusalem,  and  one  in  the  new  dispensation,  the 
Kaaba  at  Mecca.  Solomon,  it  is  true,  adorned  the  first  to  an  extent 
but  little  consonant  with  the  true  feeling  of  his  race,  but  the  Kaaba 
remains  in  its  primitive  insignificance ;  and  neither  of  these  temples, 

VOL.  I. — 5 


66 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


either  then  or  now,  derive  their  sanctity  from  the  buildings.  They  are 
the  spots  where  God's  prophets  stood  and  communicated  His  will  to 
man.  It  is  true  that  in  after  ages  a  Roman  Tetrarch  and  a  Turkish 
Sultan  surrounded  these  two  Semitic  cells  with  courts  and  cloisters, 
which  made  them  wonders  of  magnificence  in  the  cities  where  they 
existed ;  but  this  does  not  affect  the  conclusion  that  no  Semitic  race 
ever  erected  a  durable  building,  or  even  thought  of  possessing  more 
than  one  temple  at  a  time,  or  cared  to  emulate  the  splendor  of  the 
temple-palaces  of  the  Turanians. 

Government. 

Although  no  Semitic  race  was  ever  quite  republican,  which  is  a 
purely  Aryan  characteristic,  they  never  sank  under  such  an  unmitigated 
despotism  as  is  generally  found  among  the  Turanians.  When  in  small 
nuclei,  their  form  of  government  is  what  is  generally  called  patriarchal, 
the  chief  being  neither  necessarily  hereditary,  nor  necessarily  elective, 
but  attaining  his  leadership  partly  by  the  influence  due  to  age  and 
wisdom,  or  to  virtue,  partly  to  the  merits  of  his  connections,  and  some- 
times of  his  ancestors;  but  never  wholly  to  the  latter  without  some 
reference  at  least  to  the  former. 

In  larger  aggregations  the  difficulty  of  selection  made  thechiefship 
more  generally  hereditary ;  but  even  then  the  power  of  the  King  was 
always  controlled  by  the  authority  of  the  written  law,  and  never  sank 
into  the  pure  despotism  of  the  Turanians.  With  the  Jews,  too,  the 
sacred  caste  of  the  Levites  always  had  considerable  influence  in 
checking  any  excesses  of  kingly  power;  but  more  was  due  in  this 
respect  to  their  peculiar  institution  of  prophets,  who,  protected  by  the 
sacredness  of  their  office,  at  all  times  dared  to  act  the  part  of  tribunes 
of  the  people,  and  to  rebuke  with  authority  any  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  King  to  step  beyond  the  limits  of  the  constitution. 

Morals. 

One  of  the  most  striking  characteristics  in  the  morals  of  the  Semitic 
races  is  the  improvement  in  the  position  of  woman,  and  the  attempt 
to  elevate  her  in  the  scale  of  existence.  If  not  absolutely  monogamic, 
there  is  among  the  Jews,  and  among  the  Arabic  races  where  they 
are  pure,  a  strong  tendency  in  this  direction  ;  and  but  for  the  example 
of  those  nations  among  whom  they  were  placed,  they  might  have  gone 
further  in  this  direction,  and  the  dignity  of  mankind  have  been  pro- 
portionately improved. 

Their  worst  faults  arise  from  their  segregation  from  the  rest  of 
mankind.  With  them  war  against  all  but  those  of  their  own  race  is 
an  obligation  and  a  pleasure,  and  it  is  carried  on  with  a  relentless 


Part  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


cruelty  which  knows  no  pity.  To  smite  root  and  branch,  to  nuirder 
men,  women,  and  cliildren,  is  a  duty  whicli  admits  of  no  hesitation, 
and  has  stained  the  character  of  the  Semites  in  all  ages.  Against  this 
must  be  placed  the  fact  that  they  are  patriotic  beyond  all  other  races, 
and  steadfast  in  their  faith  as  no  other  people  have  ever  been ;  and 
among  themselves  they  have  been  tempered  to  kindness  and  charity 
by  the  sufferings  they  have  had  to  bear  because  of  their  uncompro- 
mising hatred  and  repugnance  to  all  their  fellow-men. 

This  isolation  has  had  the  further  effect  of  making  them  singularly 
apathetic  to  all  that  most  interests  the  other  nations  of  the  earth. 
What  their  God  has  revealed  to  them  through  his  prophets  suffices  for 
them.  "God  is  great,"  is  a  sufficient  explanation  with  them  for  all  the 
M'onders  of  science.  "God  wills  it,"  solves  all  the  complex  problems 
of  the  moral  government  of  the  world.  If  not  such  absolute  fatalists 
as  the  Turanians,  they  equally  shrink  from  the  responsibility  of 
thinking  for  themselves,  or  of  apj^lying  their  independent  reason  to 
the  great  problems  of  human  knowledge.  They  may  escape  by  this 
from  many  aberrations  that  trouble  more  active  minds,  but  their  vir- 
tues at  best  can  be  but  negative,  and  their  vices  unredeemed  by  the 
higher  aspirations  that  sometimes  half  ennoble  even  crime. 


Literature. 

In  this  again  we  have  an  immense  advance  above  all  the  Turanian 
races.  No  Semitic  people  ever  used  a  hieroglyph  or  mere  symbol,  or 
were  content  to  trust  to  memory  only.  Everywhere  and  at  all  times  — 
so  far  as  we  know  —  they  used  an  alphabet  of  more  or  less  complicated 
form.  Whether  they  invented  this  mode  of  notation  or  not  is  still 
unknown,  but  its  use  by  them  is  certain ;  and  the  consequence  is  that 
they  possess,  if  not  the  oldest,  at  least  one  of  the  very  oldest  literatures 
of  the  world.  History  w^ith  them  is  no  longer  a  mere  record  of  names 
and  titles,  but  a  chronicle  of  events,  and  with  the  moral  generally 
elicited.  The  story  and  the  rhapsody  take  their  places  side  by  side, 
the  preaching  and  the  parable  are  used  to  convey  their  lessons  to  the 
world.  If  they  had  not  the  Epos  and  the  Drama,  they  had  lyric  poetry 
of  a  beauty  and  a  pathos  wdiich  has  hardly  ever  been  surpassed. 

It  was  this  possession  of  an  alphabet,  conjoined  with  the  sublimity 
of  their  monotheistic  creed,  that  gave  these  races  the  only  superiority 
to  which  they  have  attained.  It  is  this  which  has  enabled  them  to 
keep  themselves  pure  and  undefiled  in  all  the  catastrophes  to  which 
they  have  been  exposed,  and  that  still  enables  their  literature  and 
their  creed  to  exert  an  influence  over  almost  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  even  in  times  when  the  people  themselves  have  been  held  in 
most  supreme  contempt. 


68 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  H. 


Arts. 

It  may  have  been  partly  in  consequence  of  their  love  of  phonetic 
literature,  and  partly  in  order  to  keep  themselves  distinct  from  those 
great  builders,  the  Turanians,  that  the  Semitic  races  never  erected  a 
building  woi'thy  of  the  name ;  neither  at  Jerusalem,  nor  at  Tyre  or 
Sidon,  nor  at  Carthage,  is  there  any  vestige  of  Semitic  Architectural 
Art.  Not  that  these  have  perished,  but  because  they  never  existed. 
When  Solomon  proposed  to  build  a  temple  at  Jerusalem,  though  plain 
externally,  and  hardly  so  large  as  an  ordinary  parish  church,  he  was 
forced  to  have  recourse  to  some  Turanian  people  to  do  it  for  him,  and 
by  a  display  of  gold  and  silver  and  brass  ornaments  to  make  up  for 
the  architectural  forms  he  knew  not  how  to  apply. 

In  Assyria  we  have  palaces  of  dynasties  more  or  less  purely 
Semitic,  splendid  enough,  but  of  wood  and  sunburnt  bricks,  and  only 
preserved  to  our  knowledge  from  the  accident  of  their  having  been 
so  clumsily  built  as  to  bury  themselves  and  their  wainscot  slabs  in 
their  own  ruins.  Though  half  the  people  were  probably  of  Turanian 
origin,  their  temples  seem  to  have  been  external  and  unimportant  till 
Sennacherib  and  others  learnt  the  art  of  using  stone  from  the  Egyp- 
tians, as  the  Syrians  did  afterwards  from  the  Romans.  During  the 
domination  of  the  last-named  people  we  have  the  temples  of  Palmyra 
and  Baalbec,  of  Jerusalem  and  Petra :  everywhere  an  art  of  the 
utmost  splendor,  but  with  no  trace  of  Semitic  feeling  or  Semitic 
taste  in  any  part,  or  in  any  detail. 

The  Jewish  worship  being  neither  ancestral,  nor  the  bodies  of  their 
dead  being  held  in  special  reverence,  they  had  no  tombs  worthy  of 
the  name.  Tliey  buried  the  bodies  of  their  patriarchs  and  kings  with 
care,  and  knew  where  they  were  laid ;  but  not  until  after  the  return 
from  the  Babylonish  captivity  did  they  either  worship  there,  or  mark 
the  s]:>ot  with  any  architectural  forms,  though  after  that  epoch  we  find 
abundant  traces  of  a  tendency  towards  that  especial  form  of  Turanian 
idolatry.  But  even  then  the  adornment  of  their  tombs  with  archi- 
tectural magnificence  cannot  be  traced  back  to  an  earlier  period  than 
the  time  of  the  Romans ;  and  all  that  we  find  marked  with  splendor 
of  this  class  was  the  work  of  that  people,  and  stamped  with  their 
peculiar  forms  of  Art. 

Painting  and  sculpture  were  absolutely  forbidden  to  the  Jews 
because  they  were  Turanian  arts,  and  because  their  practice  might 
lead  the  people  to  idolatry,  so  that  these  nowhere  existed  :  though  we 
cannot  understand  a  people  with  any  mixture  of  Turanian  blood  who 
had  not  an  eye  for  color,  and  a  feeling  for  beauty  of  form,  in  detail 
at  least.  Music  alone  was  therefore  the  one  aesthetic  art  of  the  Semitic 
races,  and,  wedded  to  the  lyric  verse,  seems  to  have  influenced  their 
feelings  and  excited  their  passions  to  an  extent  unknown  to  other 


Part  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


69 


nations ;  but  to  posterity  it  cannot  supply  the  place  of  the  more  per- 
manent arts,  whose  absence  is  so  much  felt  in  attempting  to  realize 
the  feelings  or  aspirations  of  a  people  like  this.^ 

As  regards  the  useful  arts,  the  Semites  were  always  more  pastoral 
than  agricultural,  and  have  not  left  in  the  countries  they  inhabited 
any  traces  of  such  hydraulic  works  as  the  earlier  races  executed ;  but 
in  commerce  they  excelled  all  nations.  The  Jews  —  from  their  inland 
situation,  cut  off  from  all  access  to  the  sea  —  could  not  do  much  in 
foreign  trade  ;  but  they  always  kept  up  their  intercourse  with  Assyria. 
The  Phoenicians  traded  backwards  and  forwards  with  every  part  of 
the  Mediterranean,  and  first  opened  out  a  knowledge  of  the  Atlantic ; 
'and  the  Arabs  first  commenced,  and  for  long  afterwards  alone  carried 
on,  the  trade  with  India.  From  the  earliest  dawn  of  history  to  the 
present  hour,  commerce  has  been  the  art  which  the  Semitic  nations 
have  cultivated  with  the  greatest  assiduity,  and  in  which  they  con- 
sequently have  attained  the  greatest,  and  an  unsurpassed  success. 

In  Asia  and  in  Africa  at  the  present  day,  all  the  native  trade  is 
carried  on  by  Arabs  ;  and  it  need  hardly  be  remarked  that  the  mone- 
tary transactions  of  the  rest  of  the  world  are  practically  managed  by 
the  descendants  of  those  who,  one  thousand  years  before  Christ,  traded 
from  Eziongeber  to  Ophir. 

Sciences. 

Although,  as  before  mentioned.  Astronomy  was  cultivated  with 
considerable  success  both  in  Egypt  and  Chaldea,  among  the  more 
contemplative  Turanians,  nothing  can  be  more  unsatisfactory  than  the 
references  to  celestial  events,  either  in  the  Bible  or  the  Koran,  both 
betraying  an  entire  ignorance  of  even  the  elements  of  astronomical 
science ;  and  we  have  no  proof  that  the  Phoenicians  were  at  all  wiser 
than  their  neighbors  in  this  respect. 

The  Semitic  races  seem  always  to  have  been  of  too  poetical  a 
temperament  to  excel  in  mathematics  or  the  mechanical  sciences.  If 
there  is  one  branch  of  scientific  knowledge  which  they  may  be  sus- 
pected of  having  cultivated  with  success,  it  is  the  group  of  natural 
sciences.    A  love  of  nature  seems  always  to  have  prevailed  with  them, 


1  All  round  the  shores  of  the  Medi- 
terranean are  found  the  traces  of  an  art 
which  has  hitherto  been  a  stumbling- 
block  to  antiquarians.  Egyptian  car- 
touches and  ornaments  in  Assyria,  which 
are  not  Egyptian;  sarcophagi  at  Tyre, 
of  Egyptian  form,  but  with  Phoenician 
inscriptions,  and  made  for  Tyrian  kings ; 
Greek  ornaments  in  Syria,  which  are 
not  Greek;  Roman  frescoes  or  orna- 


ments, and  architectural  displays  at 
Carthage,  and  all  over  Northern  Africa, 
which  however  are  not  Roman.  In 
short,  a  copying  art  something  like  our 
own,  imitating  everything,  understand- 
ing nothing.  I  am  indebted  to  my 
friend  Mr.  Franks  for  tlie  suggestion 
that  all  this  art  may  be  Phoenician,  in 
other  words,  Semitic,  and  I  believe  he 
is  right. 


70 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  11. 


and  they  may  have  known  "  the  trees,  from  the  cedar  which  is  in 
Lebanon  to  the  hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall,  and  the  names 
of  all  the  beasts,  and  the  fowls,  and  the  creeping  things,  and  the 
fishes  ; "  but  beyond  this  we  know  of  nothing  that  can  be  dignified  by 
the  name  of  science  among  the  Semitic  races.  They  more  than  made 
up  however  for  their  deficient  knowledge  of  the  exact  sciences  by  the 
depth  of  their  insight  into  the  springs  of  human  action,  and  the 
sagacity  of  their  proverbial  philosophy  ;  and,  more  than  even  this,  by 
that  wonderful  system  of  Theology  before  which  all  the  Aryan  races 
of  the  world  and  many  of  the  Turanian  bow  at  the  present  hour,  and 
acknowledge  it  as  the  basis  of  their  faith  and  the  source  of  all  their 
religious  aspirations. 

IV.— CELTIC. 

It  is  extremely  diflScult  to  write  anything  very  precise  or  very 
satisfactory  regarding  the  Celtic  races,  for  the  simple  reason  that, 
within  the  limits  of  our  historic  knowledge,  they  never  lived  sufii.ciently 
long  apart  from  other  races  to  develop  a  distinct  form  of  nationality, 
or  to  create  either  a  literature  or  a  i)olity  by  which  they  could  be 
certainly  recognized.  In  this  respect  they  form  the  most  marked 
contrast  with  the  Semitic  races.  Instead  of  wrapping  themselves  up 
within  the  bounds  of  the  most  narrow  exclusiveness,  the  Celt  every- 
where mixed  freely  with  the  people  among  whom  he  settled,  and 
adopted  their  manners  and  customs  with  a  carelessness  that  is 
startling;  while  at  the  same  time  he  retained  the  principal  char- 
acteristics of  his  race  through  every  change  of  circumstance  and 
clime. 

Almost  the  only  thing  that  can  be  predicated  of  them  with 
certainty  is,  that  they  were  either  the  last  wave  of  the  Turanians,  or, 
if  another  nomenclature  is  preferred,  the  first  wave  of  the  Aryans, 
who,  migrating  westward  from  their  parent  seat  in  Asia,  displaced 
the  original  and  more  purely  Turanian  tribes  who' occupied  Europe 
before  the  dawn  of  history.  But^  in  doing  this,  they  seem  to  have 
mixed  themselves  so  completely  with  the  races  they  were  supplanting, 
that  it  is  extremely  difl^cult  to  say  now  where  one  begins  or  where  the 
other  ends. 

We  find  their  remains  in  Asia  Minor,  whence  Ethnologists  fancy 
that  they  can  trace  a  southern  migration  along  the  northern  coast  of 
Africa,  across  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  into  Spain,  and  thence  to 
Ireland.  A  more  certain  and  more  important  migration,  however, 
crossed  the  Bosphorus,  and  following  the  valley  of  the  Danube,  threw 
one  branch  into  Italy,  where  they  penetrated  as  far  south  as  Rome; 
while  the  main  body  settled  in  and  occupied  Gaul  and  Belgium, 
whence  they  peopled  Britain,  and  may  have  met  the  southern  colonists 


Part  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


71 


in  the  Celtic  Island  of  the  west.  From  this  they  are  now  migrating, 
still  following  the  course  of  the  sun,  to  carry  to  the  New  World  the 
same  brilliant  thoughtlessness  which  has  so  thoroughly  leavened  all 
those  parts  of  the  Old  in  which  they  have  settled,  and  which  so  sorely 
puzzles  the  purer  but  more  matter-of-fact  Aryan  tribes  with  which 
they  have  come  in  contact. 

Religion. 

It  may  appear  like  a  hard  saying,  but  it  seems  nevertheless  to  be 
true,  to  assert  that  no  purely  Celtic  race  ever  rose  to  a  perfect  con- 
ception of  the  unity  of  the  Godhead.  It  may  be  that  they  only 
borrowed  this  from  the  Turanians  who  preceded  them  ;  but  whether 
imitative  or  innate,  their  Theology  admits  of  Kings  and  Queens  of 
Heaven  who  were  mortals  on  earth.  They  possess  hosts  of  saints 
and  angels,  and  a  whole  hierarchy  of  heavenly  powers  of  various 
degrees,  to  whom  the  Celt  turns  with  as  confiding  ho])e  and  as  earnest 
prayer  as  ever  Turanian  did  to  the  gods  of  his  Pantheon.  If  he  does 
not  reverence  the  bodies  of  the  departed  as  the  Egyptian  or  Chinese, 
he  at  least  adopts  the  Buddhist  veneration  for  relics,  and  attaches  far 
more  importance  to  funereal  rites  than  was  ever  done  by  any  tribe  of 
Aryans. 

The  Celt  is  as  completely  the  slave  of  a  casteless  priesthood  as 
ever  Turanian  Buddhist  was,  and  loves  to  separate  it  from  the  rest 
of  mankind,  as  representing  on  earth  the  hierarchy  in  heaven,  to 
which,  according  to  the  Celtic  creed,  all  may  hope  to  succeed  by 
practice  of  their  peculiar  virtues. 

To  this  may  be  added,  that  his  temples  are  as  splendid,  his  cere- 
monials as  gorgeous,  and  the  formula  as  unmeaning  as  any  that  ever 
graced  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  or  astonished  the  wanderer  in  the  val- 
leys of  Thibet  or  on  the  shores  of  the  Eastern  Ocean. 

Government. 

It  is  still  more  difficult  to  speak  of  the  Celtic  form  of  government, 
as  no  kingdom  of  this  people  ever  existed  by  itself  for  any  length  of 
time  ;  and  none,  indeed,  it  may  be  suspected,  could  long  hold  together. 
It  may,  however,  be  safely  asserted  that  no  rejniblican  forms  are 
possible  with  a  Celtic  people,  and  no  municipal  institutions  ever 
flourished  among  them.  The  only  form,  therefore,  we  know  of  as 
peculiarly  theirs,  is  despotism ;  not  necessarily  personal,  but  rendered 
systematic  by  centralized  bureaucratic  organizations,  and  tempered 
by  laws  in  those  States  which  have  reached  any  degree  of  stability 
or  civilization. 

Nothing  but  a  strong  centralized  despotism  can  long  co-exist  with 
a  people  too  impatient  to  submit  to  the  sacrifices  and  self-denial 


72 


HISTOHY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


inherent  in  all  attempts  at  self-government,  and  too  excitable  to  be 
controlled,  except  by  the  will  of  the  strongest,  though  it  may  also  be 
the  least  scrupulous  among  them. 

When  in  small  bodies  they  are  always  governed  by  a  chief,  gene- 
rally  hereditary,  but  always  absolute ;  who  is  looked  up  to  with  awe, 
and  obeyed  with  a  reverence  that  is  unintelligible  to  the  more  inde- 
pendent races  of  mankind. 

With  such  institutions,  of  course,  a  real  aristocracy  is  impossible ; 
and  the  restraints  of  caste  must  always  have  been  felt  to  be  intolera- 
ble. "La  carriere  ouverte  aux  talens,"  is  their  boast ;  though  not  to 
the  same  extent  as  with  the  Turanians ;  and  the  selfish  gratification 
of  individual  ambition  is  consequently  always  preferred  with  them  to 
the  more  sober  benefit  of  the  general  advancement  of  the  community. 

Morals. 

If  the  Celts  never  were  either  polygamic  or  polyandric,  they  cer- 
tainly always  retained  very  lax  ideas  with  regard  to  the  marriage- 
vow,  and  never  looked  on  woman's  mission  as  anything  higher  than 
to  minister  to  their  sensual  gratification.  With  them  the  woman  that 
fulfils  this  quality  best  '  always  commands  their  admiration  most. 
Beauty  can  do  no  wrong  —  but  without  beauty  woman  can  hardly 
rise  above  the  level  of  the  common  herd. 

The  ruling  passion  in  the  mind  of  the  Celt  is  war.  Not  like  the 
exclusive,  intolerant  Semite,  a  war  of  extermination  or  of  proselytism, 
but  war  from  pure  "gaiete  de  coeur"  and  love  of  glory.  No  Celt 
fears  to  die  if  his  death  can  gain  fame  or  add  to  the  stock  of  his 
country's  glory ;  nor  in  a  private  fight  does  he  fear  death  or  feel  the 
pain  of  a  broken  head,  if  he  has  had  a  chance  of  shooting  through 
the  heart  or  cracking  the  skull  of  his  best  friend  at  the  same  time. 
The  Celt's  love  of  excitement  leads  him  frequently  into  excesses,  and 
to  a  disregard  of  truth  and  the  virtues  belonging  to  daily  life,  which 
are  what  really  dignify  mankind ;  but  his  love  of  glory  and  of  his 
country  often  go  far  to  redeem  these  deficiencies,  and  spread  a  halo 
over  even  his  worst  faults,  which  renders  it  frequently  difficult  to 
blame  what  we  feel  in  soberness  we  ought  to  condemn. 

Literature. 

If  love  and  war  are  the  parents  of  song,  the  bard  and  the  troubadour 
ought  to  have  left  us  a  legacy  of  verse  that  would  have  filled  the 
libraries  of  Europe ;  and  so  they  probably  would  had  not  the  original 
Celt  been  too  illiterate  to  care  to  record  the  expressions  of  his  feelings. 
As  it  is,  nine-tenths  of  the  lyric  literature  of  Europe  is  of  Celtic  origin. 
The  Epos  and  the  Drama  may  belong  to  the  Aryan ;  but  in  the  art  of 


Part  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


73 


wedding  music  to  immortal  verse,  and  pouring  forth  a  passionate 
utterance  in  a  few  but  beautiful  words,  the  Celtic  is  only  equalled  by 
the  Semitic  race. 

Their  remaining  literature  is  of  such  modern  growth,  and  was  so 
specially  copied  from  what  had  preceded  it,  or  so  influenced  by  the 
contemporary  effusions  of  other  people,  that  it  is  impossible  accurately 
to  discriminate  what  is  due  to  race  and  what  to  circumstances.  All 
that  can  safely  be  said  is,  that  Celtic  literature  is  always  more  epi- 
grammatic, more  brilliant,  and  more  daring  than  that  of  the  sober 
Aryan ;  but  its  coruscations  neither  light  to  so  great  a  depth,  nor  last 
8o  long  as  less  dazzling  productions  might  do.  They  may  be  the  most 
brilliant,  but  they  certainly  do  not  belong  to  the  highest  class  of 
literary  effort ;  nor  is  their  effect  on  the  destiny  of  man  likely  to  be 
so  permanent. 

Arts. 

The  true  glory  of  the  Celt  in  Europe  is  his  artistic  eminence.  It 
is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  assert  that  without  his  intervention  w^e 
should  not  have  possessed  in  modern  times  a  church  worthy  of  admi- 
ration, or  a  picture  or  a  statue  we  could  look  at  without  shame. 

In  their  arts,  too,  —  either  from  their  higher  status,  or  from  their 
admixture  with  Aryans, —  w^e  escape  the  instinctive  fixity  which  makes 
the  arts  of  the  pure  Turanian  as  unprogressive  as  the  works  of  birds 
or  of  beavers.  Restless  intellectual  progress  characterizes  everything 
they  perform  ;  and  had  their  arts  not  been  nipped  in  the  bud  by 
circumstances  over  which  they  had  no  control,  we  might  have  seen 
something  that  would  have  shamed  even  Greece  and  wholly  eclipsed 
the  arts  of  Rome. 

They  have  not,  it  is  true,  that  instinctive  knowledge  of  color 
which  distinguishes  the  Turanian,  nor  have  they  been  able  to  give  to 
music  that  intellectual  culture  which  has  been  elaborated  by  the 
Aryans ;  but  in  the  middle  path  between  the  two  they  excel  both. 
They  are  far  better  musicians  than  the  former,  and  far  better  colorists 
than  the  last-named  races ;  but  in  modern  Europe  Architecture  is 
practically  their  owm.  Where  their  influence  was  strongest,  there 
Architecture  was  most  perfect;  as  they  decayed,  or  as  the  Aryan 
influence  prevailed,  the  art  first  languished,  and  then  died. 

Their  quasi-Tiiranian  theology  required  Temples  almost  as  grand 
as  those  of  the  Copts  or  Tamuls;  and,  like  them,  they  sought  to 
honor  those  who  had  been  mortals  by  splendor  which  mortals  are 
assumed  to  be  pleased  with ;  and  the  pomp  of  their  worship  always 
surpassed  that  with  which  they  honored  their  Kings.  Even  more 
remarkable  than  this  is  the  fact  that  they  could  and  did  build  Tombs 
such  as  a  Turanian  might  have  envied,  not  for  their  size  but  for  their 


74 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECT UliE. 


Part  II. 


art,  and  even  now  can  adorn  their  cemeteries  with  monuments  which 
are  not  ridiculous. 

When  a  people  are  so  mixed  up  with  other  races  as  the  Celts  are 
in  Europe, —  frequently  so  fused  as  to  be  undistinguishable, —  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  si)eak  with  jorecision  with  regard  either  to  their 
arts  or  influence.  It  must  in  consequence  be  safer  to  assert  that  where 
no  Celtic  blood  existed  there  no  real  art  is  found  ;  though  it  is  per- 
haps equally  true  to  assert  that  not  only  Architecture,  but  Painting 
and  Sculpture,  have  been  patronized,  and  have  flourished  in  the  exact 
ratio  in  which  Celtic  blood  is  found  prevailing  in  any  people  in  Eu- 
rope ;  and  has  died  out  as  Aryan  influence  prevails,  in  spite  of  their 
methodical  efforts  to  indoctrinate  themselves  with  what  must  be 
the  spontaneous  impulse  of  genius,  if  it  is  to  be  of  any  value. 

Sciences. 

Of  their  sciences  we  know  nothing  till  they  were  so  steeped  in 
the  civilization  of  older  races  that  originality  was  hopeless.  Still,  in 
the  stages  through  which  the  intellect  of  Europe  has  yet  passed,  they 
have  played  their  part  with  brilliancy.  But  now  that  knowledge  is 
assuming  a  higher  and  more  prosaic  phase,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
deductive  brilliancy  of  the  Celtic  mind  can  avail  anything  against  the 
inductive  sobriety  of  the  Aryan.  So  long  as  meta})hysics  were  science, 
and  science  was  theory,  the  peculiar  form  of  the  Celtic  mind  was 
singularly  well  adapted  oo  see  through  sophistry  and  to  guess  the 
direction  in  which  truth  might  lie.  But  now  that  we  have  only  to 
question  nature,  to  classify  her  answers,  and  patiently  to  record  results, 
its  mission  seems  to  have  passed  away.  Truth  in  all  its  majesty,  and 
Nature  in  all  her  greatness,  nnist  now  take  the  place  of  speculation, 
with  its  cleverness,  and  man's  ideas  of  what  might  or  should  be,  must 
be  supplanted  by  the  knowledge  of  God's  works  as  they  exist  and  the 
contemplation  of  the  eternal  grandeur  of  the  universe  which  we  see 
around  us. 

Though  these  are  the  highest,  they  are  at  the  same  time  the  most 
sober  functions  of  the  human  mind  ;  and  while  conferring  the  greatest 
and  most  lasting  benefit,  not  only  on  the  individual  who  practises 
them,  but  also  on  the  human  race,  they  are  neither  calculated  to 
gratify  personal  vanity,  nor  to  reward  individual  ambition. 

Such  pursuits  are  not,  therefore,  of  a  nature  to  attract  or  interest 
the  Celtic  races,  but  must  be  left  to  those  who  are  content  to  sink 
their  personality  in  seeking  the  advantage  of  the  common  weal. 

v.— ARYAN. 

According  to  their  own  chronology,  it  seems  to  have  been  about 
the  year  3101  b.c.  that  the  Aryans  crossed  the  Indus  and  settled  them- 


Pakt  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


75 


selves  in  the  country  between  that  river  and  the  Jumna,  since  known 
among  themselves  as  Arya  Varta,  or  the  Country  of  the  Just,  for  all 
succeeding  ages. 

More  than  a  thousand  years  afterwards  we  find  them,  in  the 
age  of  the  Raraayana,  occupying  all  the  country  north  of  the 
Yindya  range,  and  attempting  the  conquest  of  the  southern  country, 
—  then,  as  now,  occupied  by  Turanians,  —  and  penetrating  as  far  as 
Ceylon. 

Eiglit  hundred  years  later  we  see  them  in  the  Mahabharata,  having 
lost  much  of  their  purity  of  blood,  and  adopting  many  of  the  customs 
and  much  of  the  faith  of  the  people  they  were  settled  amongst;  and 
three  centuries  before  Christ  we  find  they  had  so  far  degenerated  as  to 
accept,  almost  Avithout  a  struggle,  the  religion  of  Buddha;  which, 
though  no  doubt  a  reform,  and  an  important  one,  on  the  Anthrojnc 
doctrines  of  the  pure  Turanians,  was  still  essentially  a  faith  of  a 
Turanian  j^eople ;  congenial  to  tliem,  and  to  them  only. 

Ten  centuries  after  Christ,  when  the  Moslems  came  in  contact  with 
India,  the  Aryan  was  a  myth.  The  religion  of  the  earlier  people  was 
everywhere  supreme,  and  with  only  a  nominal  thread  of  Aryanisni 
running  through  the  whole,  just  sufficient  to  bear  testimony  to  tlie 
prior  existence  of  a  purer  faith,  but  not  sufficient  to  leaven  the  mass 
to  any  ap])reciable  extent. 

The  fate  of  the  western  Aryans  differed  essentially  from  that  of 
those  who  wandered  eastward.  Theoretically  we  ought  to  assume, 
from  their  less  complex  language  and  less  pure  faith,  that  they  were 
an  earlier  offshoot ;  but  it  may  be  that  in  the  forests  of  Europe  they 
lost  for  a  while  the  civilized  forms  which  the  happier  climate  of  Arya 
Varta  enabled  the  others  to  retain  ;  or  it  may  be  that  the  contact  with 
the  more  nearly  equal  Celtic  races  had  mixed  the  language  and  the 
faith  of  the  Western  races  before  they  had  the  opportunity  or  the 
leisure  to  record  the  knowledge  they  brought  with  them. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  they  first  appear  prominently  in  the  western 
world  in  Greece,  where,  by  a  fortunate  union  with  the  Pelasgi,  a  people 
apparently  of  Turanian  race,  they  produced  a  civilization  not  purely 
Aryan,  and  somewhat  evanescent  in  its  character,  but  more  brilliant, 
while  it  lasted,  than  anything  the  world  had  seen  before,  and,  in  certain 
respects,  more  beautiful  than  anything  that  has  illumined  it  since 
their  time. 

They  next  sprang  forth  in  Rome,  mixed  with  the  Turanian  Etrus- 
cans and  the  powerful  Celtic  tribes  of  Italy ;  and  lastly  in  Northern 
Europe,  where  they  are  now  working  out  their  destiny,  but  to  what 
issue  the  future  only  can  declare. 

The  essential  difference  between  the  eastern  and  western  migration 
is  this,  that  in  India  the  Aryans  have  sunk  gradually  into  the  arms 
of  a  Turanian  people  till  they  have  lost  their  identity,  and  with  it  all 


76 


HISTOEY  OF  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Part  II. 


that  ennobled  them  when  they  went  there,  or  could  enable  them  now 
to  influence  the  world  again. 

In  Europe  they  found  the  country  cleared  of  Turanians  by  the 
earlier  Celts  ;  and,  mingling  their  blood  with  these  more  nearly  allied 
races,  they  have  raised  themselves  to  a  position  half  way  between  the 
two.  Where  they  found  the  country  unoccupied  they  have  remained 
so  pure  that,  as  their  number  multiplies,  they  may  perhaps  regain 
something  of  the  position  they  had  temporarily  abandoned,  and  some- 
thing of  that  science  which,  it  may  be  fancied,  mankind  only  knew  in 
their  primeval  seats. 

Religion. 

What  then  was  the  creed  of  the  primitive  Aryans  ?  So  far  as  we 
can  now  see,  it  was  the  belief  in  one  great  ineffable  God, —  so  great  that 
no  human  intellect  could  measure  his  greatness,  —  so  wonderful  that  no 
human  language  could  express  his  qualities,  —  pervadmg  everything 
that  was  made,  —  ruling  all  created  things,  —  a  spirit,  around,  beyond 
the  universe,  and  within  every  individual  particle  of  it.  A  creed  so 
ethereal  could  not  long  remain  the  faith  of  the  multitude,  and  we  early 
find  fire,  —  the  most  ethereal  of  the  elements, —  looked  to  as  an  emblem 
of  the  Deity.  The  heavens,  too,  received  a  name,  and  became  an 
entity :  —  so  did  our  mother  earth.  To  these  succeeded  the  sun,  the 
stars,  the  elements, —  but  never  among  the  pure  Aryans  as  gods,  or  as 
influencing  the  destiny  of  man,  but  as  manifestations  of  His  power, 
and  reverenced  because  they  were  visible  manifestations  of  a  Being 
too  abstract  for  an  ordinary  mind  to  grasp.  Below  this  the  Aryans 
never  seem  to  have  sunk. 

With  a  faith  so  elevated,  of  course  no  temple  could  be  wanted  ;  no 
human  ceremonial  could  be  supposed  capable  of  doing  'honor  to  a 
Deity  so  conceived;  nor  any  sacrifice  acceptable  to  Him  to  whom  all 
things  belonged.  With  the  Aryans  worshij)  was  a  purely  domestic 
institution ;  prayer  the  solitary  act  of  each  individual  man,  standing 
alone  in  the  presence  of  an  omniscient  Deity.  All  that  was  required 
was  that  man  should  acknowledge  the  greatness  of  God,  and  his  own 
comparative  insignificance ;  should  express  his  absolute  trust  and  faith 
in  the  beneficence  and  justice  of  his  God,  and  a  hope  that  he  might 
be  enabled  to  live  so  pure,  and  so  free  from  sin,  as  to  deserve  such 
happiness  as  this  world  can  afford,  and  be  enabled  to  do  as  much  good 
to  others  as  it  is  vouchsafed  to  man  to  perform. 

A  few  insignificant  formula  served  to  mark  the  modes  in  which 
these  subjects  should  recur.  The  recitation  of  a  time-honored  hymn 
refreshed  the  attention  of  the  worshipper,  and  the  reading  of  a  few 
sacred  texts  recalled  the  duties  it  was  expected  he  should  perform. 
With  these  simple  ceremonies  the  worship  of  the  Aryans  seems  to  have 
begun  and  ended. 


Paut  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


77 


Even  in  later  times,  when  their  blood  has  become  less  pure,  and 
their  feelings  were  influenced  by  association  with  those  among  whom 
they  resided,  the  religion  of  the  Aryans  always  retained  its  intellectual 
character.  No  dogma  was  ever  admitted  that  would  not  bear  the  test 
of  reason,  and  no  article  of  faith  was  ever  assented  to  which  seemed  to 
militate  against  the  supremacy  of  intellect  over  all  feelings  and 
passions.  In  all  their  wanderings  they  were  always  prepared  to 
admit  the  immeasurable  greatness  of  the  one  incorporeal  Deity,  and 
the  impossibility  of  the  human  intellect  approaching  or  forming  any 
adequate  conception  of  His  majesty. 

When  they  abandoned  the  domestic  form  of  worship,  they  adoptea 
the  congregational,  and  then  not  so  much  with  the  idea  that  it  was 
pleasing  to  God,  as  in  order  to  remind  each  other  of  their  duties,  to 
regulate  and  govern  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  community,  and  to 
inculcate  piety  towards  God  and  charity  towards  each  other. 

It  need  hardly  be  added  that  superstition  is  impossible  with 
minds  so  constituted,  and  that  science  must  always  be  the  surest  and 
the  best  ally  of  a  religion  so  j^ure  and  exalted,  which  is  based  on  a 
knowledge  of  God's  works,  a  consequent  appreciation  of  their  great- 
ness, and  an  ardent  aspiration  towards  that  power  and  goodness  which 
the  finite  intellect  of  man  can  never  hope  to  reach. 

Government. 

The  most  marked  characteristic  of  the  Aryans  is  their  innate 
passion  for  self-government.  If  not  absolutely  republican,  the  tendency 
of  all  their  institutions,  at  all  times,  has  been  towards  that  form,  and 
in  almost  the  exact  ratio  to  the  purity  of  the  blood  do  they  adopt  this 
form  of  autocracy.  If  kingly  power  was  ever  introduced  among  them, 
it  was  always  in  the  form  of  a  limi^d  monarchy ;  never  the  uncon- 
trolled despotism  of  the  other  races ;  and  every  conceivable  check 
was  devised  to  prevent  encroachments  of  the  crown,  even  if  such  were 
possible  among  a  people  so  organized  as  the  Aryans  always  have 
been. 

With  them  every  town  was  a  municipality,  every  village  a  little 
republic,  and  every  trade  a  separate  self-governing  guild.  Many  of 
these  institutions  have  died  out,  or  else  fallen  into  neglect,  in  those 
communities  where  equal  rights  and  absolute  laws  have  rendered  each 
individual  a  king  in  his  own  person,  and  every  family  a  republic 
in  itself. 

The  village  system  which  the  Aryans  introduced  into  India,  is  still 
the  most  remarkable  of  its  institutions.  These  little  republican  organ- 
isms have  survived  the  revolutions  of  fifty  centuries.  Neither  the 
devastations  of  war  nor  the  indolence  of  peace  seems  to  have  affected 
them.    Under  Brahmin,  Buddhist,  or  Moslem,  they  remain  the  same 


78 


HISTORY  OF  ARCIIITECTUIIE. 


Pakt  II 


unchanged  and  unchangeable  institutions,  and  neither  despotism  nor 
anarchy  has  been  able  to  alter  them.  They  alone  have  saved  India 
from  sinking  into  a  state  of  savage  imbecility,  under  the  various  hordes 
of  conquerors  who  have  at  times  overrun  her;  and  they,  with  the 
Yedas  and  the  laws  afterward  embodied  by  Menu,  alone  remain  as 
records  of  the  old  Aryan  possessors  of  the  Indian  peninsula. 

Municipalities,  which  are  merely  an'  enlargement  of  the  Indian 
village  system,  exist  wherever  the  Romans  were  settled,  or  where  the 
Aryan  races  exist  in  Europe ;  and  though  guilds  are  fast  losing  their 
significance,  it  was  the  Teutonic  guilds  that  alone  checked  and  ulti- 
mately supplanted  the  feudal  despotisms  of  the  Celts. 

Caste  is  another  institution  of  these  races,  which  has  always  more 
or  less  influenced  all  their  actions.  Where  their  blood  has  become  so 
impure  as  it  is  in  India,  caste  has  degenerated  into  an  abuse  ;  but  where 
it  is  a  living  institution,  it  is  perhaps  as  conducive  to  the  proper 
regulation  of  society  as  any  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  The  one 
thing  over  which  no  man  can  have  any  control  is  the  accident  of  his 
birth ;  but  it  is  an  immense  gain  to  him  that  he  should  be  satisfied  with 
the  station  in  which  he  finds  himself,  and  content  to  do  his  duty  in  the 
sphere  in  which  he  was  born.  Caste,  properly  understood,  never  inter- 
feres with  the  accumulation  of  wealth  or  power  within  the  limits  of  the 
class,  and  only  recognizes  the  inevitable  accident  of  birth ;  while  the 
fear  of  losing  caste  is  one  of  the  most  salutary  checks  which  has  been 
devised  to  restrain  men  from  acts  unworthy  of  their  social  position.  It 
is  an  enormous  gain  to  society  that  each  man  should  know  his  station 
and  be  prepared  to  perform  the  duties  belonging  to  it,  without  the  rest- 
less craving  of  a  selfish  ambition  that  would  sacrifice  everything  for  the 
sake  of  the  personal  aggrandizement  of  the  individual.  It  is  far  better 
to  acknowledge  that  there  is  no  s])here  in  life  in  which  man  ma}'  not 
become  as  like  unto  the  gods  as  in  any  other  sphere  ;  and  it  is  every- 
where better  to  respect  the  public  good  rather  than  to  seek  to  gratify 
personal  ambition. 

The  populations  of  modern  Europe  have  become  so  mixed  that 
neither  caste  nor  any  other  Aryan  institution  now  exists  in  its  pristine 
purity ;  but  in  the  ratio  in  which  a  people  is  Aryan  do  they  possess  an 
aristocracy  and  municipal  institutions ;  and,  what  is  almost  of  more 
importance,  in  that  ratio  are  the  people  prepared  to  respect  the  grada- 
tions of  caste  in  society,  and  to  sacrifice  their  individual  ambition  to 
the  less  brilliant  task  of  doing  all  the  good  that  is  possible  in  the 
spheres  in  which  they  have  been  placed. 

It  is  true  and  so  has  been  found,  that  an  uncontrolled  despotism  is 
a  sharper,  a  quicker,  and  a  better  tool  for  warlike  purposes,  or  where 
national  vanity  is  to  be  gratified  by  conquest  or  the  display  of  power  ; 
but  the  complicated,  and  it  may  be  clumsy,  institutions  of  the  Aryans 
are  far  more  lasting  and  more  conducive  to  individual  self-respect,  and 


Part  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


79 


far  more  likely  to  add  to  the  sum  of  human  happiness,  and  tend  more 
clearly  to  the  real  greatness  and  moral  elevation  of  mankind,  than  any 
human  institution  we  are  yet  acquainted  with. 

So  far  as  our  experience  now  goes,  the  division  of  human  society 
into  classes  or  castes  is  not  only  the  most  natural  concomitant  of  the 
division  of  labor,  but  is  also  the  most  beneficent  of  the  institutions 
of  man  ;  while  the  organization  of  a  nation  into  self-governing  munici- 
palities is  not  only  singularly  conducive  to  individual  well-being,  but 
renders  it  practically  indestructible  by  conquest,  and  even  imperish- 
able through  lapse  of  time.  These  two  are  the  most  essentially 
characteristic  institutions  of  the  Aryans. 

Morals. 

In  morals  the  Aryans  were  always  monogamic,  and  with  them  alone 
does  woman  always  assume  a  perfect  equality  of  position ;  mistress  of 
her  own  actions  till  marriage ;  when  married,  in  theory  at  least,  the 
equal  sharer  in  the  property  and  in  the  duties  of  the  household.  Were 
it  possible  to  carry  out  these  doctrines  absolutely  in  practice,  they 
would  j^robably  be  more  conducive  to  human  happiness  than  any  of 
those  enumerated  above ;  but  even  a  tendency  towards  them  is  an 
enormous  gain. 

Their  institutions  for  self-government,  enumerated  above,  have 
probably  done  more  to  elevate  the  Aryan  race  than  can  well  be  a])pre- 
ciated.  When  every  man  takes,  or  may  take,  his  share  in  governing 
the  commonwealth  —  when  every  man  must  govern  himself,  and  respect 
the  independence  of  his  neighbor  — men  cease  to  be  tools,  and  become 
independent  reasoning  beings.  They  are  taught  self-respect,  and  with 
this  comes  love  of  truth  —  of  those  qualities  which  command  the  respect 
of  their  fellow-men  ;  and  they  are  likewise  taught  that  control  of  their 
passions  which  renders  them  averse  to  war ;  while  the  more  sober  occu- 
pations of  life  prevent  the  necessity  of  their  seeking,  in  the  wildness  of 
excitement,  that  relief  from  monotony  w])ich  so  frequently  drives  other 
races  into  those  excesses  the  world  has  had  so  often  to  deplore.  The 
existence  of  caste,  even  in  its  most  modified  form,  prevents  individual 
ambition  from  having  that  unlimited  career  which  among  other 
races  has  so  often  sacrificed  the  public  weal  to  the  ambition  of  an 
individual. 

Literature. 

The  Aryan  races  employed  an  alphabet  at  so  early  a  period  of  their 
history  that  we  cannot  now  tell  when  or  how  it  was  introduced  among 
them  ;  and  it  was,  even  when  we  first  become  acquainted  with  it,  a 
far  more  perfect  alphabet  than  that  of  the  Semitic  races,  though  appar- 
ently formed  on  its  basis.    Nothing  in  it  was  dependent  on  memory. 


80 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


It  possessed  vowels,  and  all  that  was  necessary  to  enunciate  sounds 
with  perfect  and  absolute  precision.  In  consequence  of  this,  and  of 
the  perfect  structure  of  their  language,  they  were  enabled  to  indulge 
in  philosophical  speculation,  to  write  treatises  on  grammar  and  logic, 
and  generally  to  assume  a  literary  position  which  other  races  never 
attained  to. 

History  with  them  was  not  a  mere  record  of  dates  or  collection 
of  genealogical  tables,  but  an  essay  on  the  polity  of  mankind  to 
which  the  narrative  afforded  the  illustration ;  while  their  poetry  had 
always  a  tendency  to  assume  more  a  didactic  than  a  lyric  form.  It  is 
among  the  Aryans  that  the  Epos  first  rose  to  eminence  and  the  Drama 
was  elevated  above  a  mere  spectacle ;  but  even  in  these  the  highest 
merit  sought  to  be  attained  was  that  they  should  represent  vividly 
events  which  might  have  taken  place,  even  if  they  never  did  happen 
among  men ;  while  the  Celts  and  the  Semites  delight  in  wild  imagin- 
ings Avhich  never  could  have  existed  except  in  the  brain  of  the  poet. 
When  the  blood  of  the  Aryan  has  been  mixed  with  that  of  other  races, 
they  have  produced  a  literature  eminently  imaginative  and  poetic; 
but  in  proportion  to  their  purity  has  been  their  tendency  towards  a 
more  prosaic  style  of  composition.  The  aim  of  the  race  has  always 
been  the  attainment  of  practical  common  sense,  and  the  possession  of 
this  quality  is  their  pride  and  boast,  and  justly  so;  but  it  is  unfortu- 
nately antagonistic  to  the  existence  of  an  imaginative  literature,  and 
we  must  look  to  them  more  for  eminence  in  works  on  history  and 
philosophy  than  in  those  which  require  imagination  or  creative 
power. 

Art. 

These  remarks  apply  with  more  than  double  force  to  the  Fine 
Arts  than  to  verbal  literature.  In  the  first  place,  a  people  possessing 
such  a  power  of  phonetic  utterance  never  could  look  on  a  picture 
or  statue  as  more  than  a  mere  subsidiary  illustration  of  the  written 
text.  A  painting  may  represent  vividly  one  view  of  what  took  place 
at  one  moment  of  time,  but  a  written  narrative  can  deal  with  all  the 
circumstances  and  link  it  to  its  antecedents  and  effects.  A  statue  of  a 
man  cannot  tell  one-tenth  of  what  a  short  biography  will  make  plain  ; 
and  an  ideal  statue  or  ideal  painting  may  be  a  pretty  Celtic  plaything, 
but  it  is  not  what  Aryans  hanker  after. 

With  Architecture  the  case  is  even  worse.  Convenience  is  the 
first  thing  which  the  practical  common  sense  of  the  Aryan  seeks, 
and  then  to  gain  what  he  desires  by  the  readiest  and  the  easiest 
means.  This  done,  why  should  he  do  more?  If,  induced  by  a 
desire  to  emulate  others,  he  has  to,  make  his  building  ornamental, 
he  is  willing  to  copy  what  experience  has  proved  to  be  successful  in 
former  works,  willing  to  spend  his  money  and  to  submit  to  some 


Part  11. 


INTRODUCTION. 


81 


inconvenience ;  but  in  his  heart  he  thinks  it  useless,  and  he  neither 
will  waste  his  time  in  thinking  on  the  subject,  nor  apply  those  energies 
of  his  mind  to  its  elaboration,  without  which  nothing  great  or  good 
was  ever  done  in  Art. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  immaterial  nature  of  their  faith  has 
always  deprived  the  Aryan  races  of  the  principal  incentive  to  archi- 
tectural magnificence.!  The  Turanian  and  Celtic  races  always  have 
the  most  implicit  faith  in  ceremonial  worship  and  in  the  necessity  of 
architectural  splendor  as  its  indispensable  accompaniment.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  more  practical  Aryan  can  never  be  brought  to  under- 
stand that  prayer  is  either  more  sincere  or  is  more  acceptable  in  one 
form  of  house  than  in  any  other.  He  does  not  feel  that  virtue  can 
be  increased  or  vice  exterminated  by  the  number  of  bricks  or  stones 
that  may  be  heaped  on  one  another,  or  the  form  in  which  they  may  be 
placed  ;  nor  will  his  conception  of  tlie  Deity  admit  of  supposing  that 
He  can  be  propitiated  by  palaces  or  halls  erected  in  honor  of  Him,  or 
that  a  building  in  the  Middle  Pointed  Gothic  is  more  acceptable  than 
one  in  the  Classic  or  any  other  style. 

This  want  of  faith  may  be  reasonable,  but  it  is  fatal  to  poetry  in 
Art,  and,  it  is  feared,  will  prevent  the  Aryans  from  attaining  more 
excellence  in  Architectural  Art  at  the  present  time  than  they  have 
done  in  former  ages. 

It  is  also  true  that  the  people  are  singularly  deficient  in  their  aj^- 
preciation  of  colors.  Not  that  actual  color-blindness  is  more  common 
with  them  than  with  other  races,  but  the  harmony  of  tints  is  unknown 
to  them.  Some  may  learn,  but  none  feel  it;  it  is  a  matter  of  mem- 
ory and  an  exercise  of  intellect,  but  no  more.  So,  too,  with  form 
Other — even  savage  —  races  cannot  go  w^rong  in  this  respect.  If  the 
Aryan  is  successful  in  art,  it  is  generally  in  consequence  of  education, 
not  from  feeling ;  and,  like  all  that  is  not  innate  in  man,  it  yields  only 
a  secondary  gratification,  and  fails  to  impress  his  brother  man,  or  to 
be  a  real  work  of  Art. 

From  these  causes  the  ancient  Aryans  never  erected  a  single 
building  in  India  when  they  were  pure,  nor  in  that  part  of  India  which 
they  colonized  even  after  their  blood  became  mixed ;  and  we  do  not 
now  know  what  their  style  was  or  is,  though  the  whole  of  that  part 
of  the  peninsula  occupied  by  the  Turanians,  or  to  which  their 
influence  ever  extended,  is,  and  always  was,  covered  by  buildings, 
vast  in  extent  and  wonderful  from  their  elaboration.  This,  probably, 
also  is  the  true  cause  of  the  decline  of  Architecture  and  other  arts  in 
Europe  and  in  the  rest  of  the  modern  world.  Wherever  the  Aryans 
appear  Art  flies  before  them,  and  where  their  influence  extends 


1  Had  there  been  no  Pelasgi  in  Greece,  there  probably  would  have  been  no 
Architecture  of  the  Grecian  period. 

VOL.  I. — 6 


82 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  XL 


utilitarian  practical  common  sense  is  assumed  to  be  all  that  man 
should  aim  at.  It  may  be  so,  but  it  is  sad  to  think  that  beauty 
cannot  be  combined  with  sense. 

Music  alone,  as  being  the  most  phonetic  of  the  fine  arts,  has 
received  among  the  Aryans  a  degree  of  culture  denied  to  the  others ; 
but  even  here  the  tendency  has  been  rather  to  develop  scientific  excel- 
lence than  to  appeal  to  the  responsive  chords  of  the  human  heart. 
Notwithstanding  this,  its  power  is  more  felt  and  greater  excellence  is 
attained  in  this  science  than  in  any  other.  It  also  has  escaped  the 
slovenly  process  of  copying,  with  which  the  inartistic  mind  of  the 
Aryans  has  been  content  to  fancy  it  was  creating  Art  in  other 
branches. 

If,  however,  these  races  have  been  so  deficient  in  the  fine  arts, 
they  have  been  as  excellent  in  all  the  useful  ones.  Agriculture,  man- 
ufactures, commerce,  ship-building,  and  road-making,  all  that  tends  to 
accumulate  wealth  or  to  advance  material  prosperity,  has  been  devel- 
oped to  an  extent  as  great  as  it  is  unprecedented,  and  promises  to 
produce  results  which  as  yet  can  only  be  dimly  guessed  at.  A  great, 
and,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  an  inevitable  revolution,  is  pervading  the 
whole  world  through  the  devotion  of  the  Aryan  races  to  these  arts. 
We  have  no  reason  for  supposing  it  will  be  otherwise  tlian  beneficial, 
however  much  we  may  feel  inclined  to  regret  that  the  beautiful  could 
not  be  allowed  to  share  a  little  of  that  worship  so  lavishly  bestowed 
on  the  useful. 

Sciences. 

It  follows,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that,  with  minds  so  constituted, 
the  Aryans  should  have  cultivated  science  with  earnestness  and  suc- 
cess. The  only  beauty  they,  in  fact,  appreciated  was  the  beauty  of 
scientific  truth ;  the  only  harmony  they  ever  really  felt  was  that  of  the 
laws  of  nature  ;  and  the  only  art  they  ever  cared  to  cultivate  was  that 
which  grouped  these  truths  and  their  harmonies  into  forms  which 
enabled  them  to  be  easily  grasped  and  appreciated.  Mathematics 
always  had  especial  charms  to  the  Aryan  mind ;  and,  more  even  than 
this,  astronomy  was  always  captivating.  So,  also,  were  the  mechanical, 
and  so,  too,  the  natural  sciences.  It  is  to  the  Aryans  that  Induction 
owes  its  birth,  and  they  probably  alone  have  the  patience  and  the 
sobriety  to  work  it  to  its  legitimate  conclusions. 

The  true  mission  of  the  Aryan  races  appears  to  be  to  pervade  the 
world  with  the  useful  and  industrial  arts,  and  so  tend  to  reproduce 
that  unity  which  has  long  been  lost,  to  raise  man,  not  by  magnifying 
his  individual  cleverness,  but  by  accumulating  a  knowledge  of  the 
works  of  God,  so  tending  to  make  him  a  greater  and  wiser,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  humbler  and  a  more  religious  servant  of  his  Creator. 


INTRODUCTION. 


83 


CONCLUSION. 

When  Augiiste  Comte  proposed  that  classification  which  made  the 
fortune  of  his  philosophy, —  when  he  said  that  all  mankind  passed 
through  the  theological  state  in  childhood,  the  metaphysical  in  youth, 
and  the  philosophical  or  positive  in  manhood, —  and  ventured  to  extend 
this  discovery  to  nations,  he  had  a  glimpse,  as  others  have  had  before 
him,  of  the  beauty  of  the  great  harmony  which  pervades  all  created 
things.  But  he  had  not  philosophy  enough  to  see  that  the  one  great 
law  is  so  vast  and  so  remote,  that  no  human  intellect  can  grasp  it, 
and  that  it  is  only  the  little  fragments  of  that  great  scheme,  which  are 
found  everywhere,  which  man  is  permitted  to  understand. 

Had  he  known  as  much  of  ethnographical  as  he  did  of  mathemati- 
cal science,  he  would  have  perceived  that  there  is  no  warrant  for  this 
daring  generalization;  but  that  nations,  in  the  states  which  he  calls 
the  theological,  the  metaphysical,  and  the  philosophical,  exist  now  and 
coexisted  through  all  the  ages  of  the  world  to  which  our  historical 
knowledge  extends. 

What  the  Egyptians  were  when  they  first  appeared  on  the  scene 
they  were  when  they  perished  under  the  Greek  and  Roman  sway;  — 
what  the  Chinese  always  were  they  now  are; — the  Jews  and  Arabs 
are  unchanged  to  this  day; — the  Celts  are  as  daringly  speculative  and 
as  blindly  superstitious  now  as  we  always  found  them ; — and  the  Aryans 
of  the  Vedas  or  of  Tacitus  were  very  much  the  same  sober,  reasoning, 
unimaginative,  and  unartistic  people  as  they  are  at  this  hour.  Progress 
among  men,  as  among  the  animals,  seems  to  be  achieved  not  so  much 
by  advances  made  within  the  limits  of  the  group,  as  by  the  supersession 
of  the  less  finely  organized  beings  by  those  of  a  higher  class;  —  and 
this,  so  far  as  our  knowledge  extends,  is  accomplished  neither  by  suc- 
cessive creations,  nor  by  the  gradual  development  of  one  species  out 
of  another,  but  by  the  successive  prominent  appearances  of  previously 
developed,  though  partially  dormant  creations. 

Ethnographers  have  already  worked  out  this  problem  to  a  great 
extent,  and  arrived  at  a  very  considerable  degree  of  certainty,  through 
the  researches  of  patient  linguistic  investigators.  But  language  is  in 
itself  too  impalpable  ever  to  give  the  science  that  tangible,  local  reality, 
which  is  necessary  to  its  success;  and  it  is  here  that  Archaeology  comes 
so  opportunely  to  its  aid.  What  men  dug  or  built  remains  where  it 
was  first  placed,  and  probably  retains  the  first  im]:>ressions  it  received  ; 
and  so  fixes  the  era  and  standing  of  those  who  called  it  into  existence; 
so  that  even  those  who  cannot  appreciate  the  evidence  derived  from 
grammar  or  from  words,  may  generally  see  at  a  glance  what  the  facts 
of  the  case  really  are. 


84 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


It  is  even  more  important  that  such  a  science  as  Ethnology  should 
have  two  or  more  methods  of  investigation  at  its  command.  Certainty 
can  hardly  ever  be  attained  by  only  one  process,  unless  checked  and 
elucidated  by  otliers,  and  nothing  can  therefore  be  more  fortunate  than 
the  possession  of  so  important  a  sister  science  as  that  of  Archaeology 
to  aid  in  the  search'  after  scientific  truth. 

If  Ethnology  may  thus  be  so  largely  indebted  to  Archaeology,  the 
converse  is  also  true ;  and  she  may  pay  back  the  debt  with  interest. 
As  Archaeology  and  Architecture  have  hitherto  been  studied,  they,  but 
more  especially  the  latter,  have  been  little  more  than  a  dry  record  of 
facts  and  measurements,  interesting  to  the  antiquary,  to  the  profes- 
sional architect,  or  to  the  tourist,  who  finds  it  necessary  to  get  up  a 
certain  amount  of  knowledge  on  the  subject;  but  the  utmost  that  has 
hitherto  been  sought  to  be  attained  is  a  certain  knowledge  of  the  forms 
of  the  art,  while  the  study  of  it,  as  that  of  one  of  the  most  important 
and  most  instructive  of  the  sciences  connected  with  the  history  of 
man,  has  been  as  a  rule  neglected. 

Without  this  the  study  of  Architecture  is  a  mere  record  of  bricks 
and  stones,  and  of  the  modes  in  which  they  were  heaped  together  for 
man's  use.  Considered  in  the  light  of  an  historical  record,  it  acquires 
not  only  the  dignity  of  a  science,  but  especial  interest  as  being  one  of 
those  sciences  which  are  most  closely  connected  with  man's  interests 
and  feelings,  and  tl\e  one  which  more  distinctly  expresses  and  more 
clearly  records  what  man  did  and  felt  in  previous  ages,  than  any  other 
study  we  are  acquainted  witli. 

From  this  point  of  view,  not  only  every  tomb  and  every  temple, 
but  even  the  rude  monoliths  and  mounds  of  savages,  acquire  a  dignity 
and  interest  to  which  they  have  otherwise  no  title;  and  man's  works 
become  not  only  man's  most  imperishable  record,  but  one  of  the  best 
means  we  possess  of  studying  liis  liistory,  or  of  understanding  his 
nature  or  his  aspirations. 

Rightly  understood,  Archaeology  is  as  useful  as  any  other  branch  of 
science  or  of  art,  in  enabling  us  to  catch  such  glinipses  as  are  vouch- 
safed to  man  of  the  great  laws  that  govern  all  things ;  and  the  knowl- 
edge that  this  class  of  man's  works  is  guided  and  governed  by  those 
very  laws,  and  not  by  the  chance  efforts  of  unmeaning  minds,  elevates 
the  study  of  it  to  as  high  a  position  as  that  of  any  other  branch  of 
human  knowledge. 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 

PAET  I.-ANOIENT  AROHITEOTUEE. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

SO  long  as  the  geographer  confines  himself  to  mapping  out  the  dif- 
ferent countries  of  the  world,  or  smaller  portions  of  the  earth's 
surface,  he  finds  no  difficulty  in  making  a  projection  which  shall  cor- 
rectly represent  the  exact  relative  position  of  all  the  various  features 
of  the  land  or  sea.  But  when  he  attempts  to  portray  a  continent, 
some  distortion  necessarily  results ;  and  when  he  undertakes  a  hemi- 
sphere, both  distortion  and  exaggeration  become  inevitable.  It  has 
consequently  been  found  necessary  to  resort  to  some  conventional 
means  of  portraying  the  larger  surfaces  of  the  globe.  These  avow- 
edly do  not  represent 'correctly  the  forms  of  the  countries  portrayed, 
but  they  enable  the  geographer  to  ascertain  what  their  distances  or 
relative  positions  are  by  the  application  of  certain  rules  and  formulae 
of  no  great  complexity. 

The  same  thing  is  true  of  history.  So  long  as  the  narrative  is 
confined  to  individual  countries  or  provinces,  it  may  be  perfectly 
consecutive  and  uninterrupted  ;  but  when  two  or  three  nations  are 
grouped  together,  frequent  interruptions  and  recapitulations  become 
necessary ;  and  when  universal  history  is  attempted,  it  seems  impos- 
sible to  arrange  the  narrative  so  as  to  prevent  these  from  assuming 
very  considerable  importance.  The  utmost  that  can  be  done  is  to 
devise  some  scheme  which  shall  prevent  the  repetition  from  leading 
to  tediousness,  and  enable  the  student  to  follow  the  thread  of  any 
portion  of  the  narrative  without  confusion,  or  the  assumption  of  any 
special  previous  knowledge  on  his  part. 

Bearing  these  difficulties  in  mind,  it  will  probably  be  found  con- 
venient to  divide  the  whole  history  of  Architecture  into  four  great 
divisions  of  parts. 

85 


86 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Book  I. 


The  first,  which  may  be  called  "Ancient  or  Heathen  Art,"  to  com- 
prehend all  those  styles  which  prevailed  in  the  old  world  from  the 
dawn  of  history  in  Egypt  till  the  disruption  of  the  Roman  Empire 
by  the  removal  of  the  capital  from  Rome  to  Constantinople  in  the 
fourth  century. 

The  second  to  be  called  either  "  Mediaeval,"  or  more  properly 
"  Christian  Art."  This  again  subdivides  itself  into  three  easily-under- 
stood divisions.  1.  The  Romanesque,  or  Transitional  style,  which  pre- 
vailed between  the  ages  of  Constantine  and  Justinian  ;  2.  The  Gothic, 
or  Western  Christian ;  and  3.  The  Byzantine,  or  Eastern  Christian 
style.  Either  of  these  two  last  might  be  taken  first  without  incon- 
gruity ;  but  on  the  whole,  it  will  be  convenient,  first  to  follow  the 
thread  of  the  history  of  Gothic  art,  and  return  to  take  up  that  of 
the  Byzantine  afterwards.  The  Western  styles  form  a  complete  and 
perfect  chapter  in  themselves,  based  directly  on  the  Romanesque,  but 
borrowing  very  little  and  lending  less  to  any  other  style  during"  their 
existence.  They  also  perished  earlier,  having  died  out  in  the  16th 
century,  while  the  Byzantine  continued  to  be  practised  within  the 
limits  of  the  present  century  in  Russia  and  other  Eastern  countries. 

Another  reason  for  taking  the  Gothic  styles  first  is  that  the 
Saracenic  spring  directly  from  the  Byzantine,  and  according  to  this 
arrangement  would  follow  naturally  after  it. 

The  third  great  division  of  the  subject  I  would  suggest  might  con- 
veniently be  denominated  "Pagan." i  It  would  comprise  all  tfhose 
minor  miscellaneous  styles  not  included  in  the  two  previous  divisions. 
Commencing  with  the  Saracenic,  it  would  include  the  Buddhist, 
Hindu,  and  Chinese  styles,  the  Mexican  and  Peruvian,  and  lastly  that 
mysterious  group  which  for  want  of  a  better  name  I  have  elsewhere 
designated  as  "Rude  Stone  Monuments."  ^  No  very  consecutive 
arrangement  can  be  formed  of  these  styles.  They  generally  have 
little  connection  with  each  other,  and  are  so  much  less  important  than 
the  others  that  their  mode  of  treatment  ia  of  far  less  consequence. 
Nor  is  it  necessary  to  attempt  any  exact  classification  of  these  at  pres- 
ent, as,  owing  to  the  convenience  of  publication,  it  has  been,  deter- 
mined to  form  the  Indian  and  allied  Eastern  styles  into  a  separate 
volume,  which  will  include  not  only  the  Buddhist  and  Hindu  styles, 
but  the  Indian  Saracenic,  which,  in  a  strictly  logical  arrangement, 
ought  to  be  classified  with  the  Western  style  bearing  the  same  name. 


1  The  derivation  of  the  two  words 
Heathen  and  Pagan  seems  to  indicate 
the  relative  importance  of  these  two 
terms  very  much  in  the  degree  it  is  here 
wished  to  express.  Heathen  is  gener- 
ally understood  to  be  derived  from  edvo<;, 
a  nation  or  people;  and  Pagan  from 
Pagus,  Pagani,  a  village,  or  villagers. 


Both  are  iised  here  not  as  terms  of  re- 
proach, but  as  indicative  of  their  being 
non-Christian,  which  is  what  it  is  wished 
to  express,  and  was  the  original  inten- 
tion of  the  terra. 

2  "Rude  Stone  Monuments,"  1  vol. 
8vo.    Murrav,  1872. 


Part  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


87 


The  styles  of  the  New  World,  having  as  yet  no  acknowledged 
connection  with  those  of  the  Old,  may  be  for  the  present  treated  of 
anywhere. 

The  fourth  and  last  great  division,  forming  the  fourth  volume  of 
the  present  work,  is  that  of  the  "  Modern  or  Copying  Styles  of 
Architecture,"  meaning  thereby  those  which  are  the  products  of 
the  renaissance  of  the  classical  styles  that  marked  the  epoch  of 
the  cinquecento  period.  These  have  since  that  time  prevailed  gene- 
rally in  Europe  to  the  present  day,  and  are  now  making  the  tour 
of  the  world.  Within  the  limits  of  the  present  century  it  is  true  that 
the  copying  of  the  classical  styles  has  to  some  extent  been  superseded 
by  a  more  servile  imitation  of  those  of  mediaeval  art.  The  forms  have 
consequently  changed,  but  the  principles  remain  the  same. 

It  would  of  course  be  easy  to  point  out  minor  objections  to  this  or 
to  any  scheme,  but  on  the  whole  it  will  be  found  to  meet  the  exigencies 
of  the  case  as  we  now  know  it,  as  well  or  perhaps  better  than  any  other. 
The  greatest  difficulty  in  carrying  it  out  is  to  ascertain  how  far  the 
geographical  arrangement  should  be  made  to  supersede  the  chrono- 
logical and  ethnographical.  Whether,  for  instance,  Italy  should  be 
considered  as  a  whole,  or  if  the  buildings  of  the  eastern  coast  should 
not  be  described  as  belonging  to  the  Byzantine,  and  those  of  the 
Avestern  coast  to  the  Gothic  kingdom  ?  Whether  the  description  of 
the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  should  stop  short  with  the  rebuilding  by 
Zorobabel,  or  be  continued  till  its  final  completion  under  Herod  ?  If 
the  former  course  is  pursued,  we  cut  in  two  a  perfectly  consecutive 
narrative ;  if  the  latter,  we  get  far  in  advance  of  our  chronological 
sequence. 

In  both  of  these  instances,  as  in  many  others  it  is  a  choice  of 
difficulties,  and  where  frequently  the  least  strictly  logical  mode  of 
proceeding  may  be  found  the  more  convenient. 

After  all,  the  real  difficulty  lies  not  so  much  in  arranging  the 
materials  as  in  weighing  the  relative  importance  to  be  assigned  to  each 
division.  In  wandering  over  so  vast  a  field  it  is  difficult  to  prevent 
personal  predilection  from  interfering  with  purely  logical  criticism. 
Although  architecture  is  the  most  mechanical  of  the  fine  arts,  and 
consequently  the  most  amenable  to  scientific  treatment,  still  as  a  fine 
art  it  must  be  felt  to  be  appreciated,  and  when  the  feelings  come  into 
play  the  reason  is  sometimes  in  danger.  Though  strict  impartiality 
has  been  aimed  at  in  assigning  the  true  limits  to  each  of  the  divisions 
above  pointed  out,  few  probably  will  be  of  the  same  opinion  as  to  the 
degree  of  success  which  has  been  achieved  in  the  attempt. 


88 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I 


OUTLINE  OF  EGYPTIAN  CHRONOLOGY, 


ACCORDING  TO  MANETHO  AND  THE  MONUMENTS. 


OLD  KINGDOM  OF  PYRAMID  BUILDERS. 


1st  dynasty,  Thinite 
2d 


3d 
4th 
5th 
6th 
7th 
8th 
9th 
10th 


Memphite  . 

Elephantine 

Memphite 

"  70  days  ? 
>) 

Heracleapolite  .  . 


Years. 
252 
302 
214 
284 
248 
203 

146 

100? 

185 


Accession  of  Menes,  1st  king  . 

Ten  dynasties  of  kings,  reigning 
sometimes  contemporaneously  in 
Upper  and  in  Lower  Egypt;  at 
other  times  both  divisions  were 
miited  under  one  king. 

The  total  duration  of  their 
reigns,  as  nearly  as  can  be  esti- 
mated, was  1335  years. 


B.C. 

3906 


11th 
12th 


FIRST  THEBAN  KINGDOM. 

Thebans  ....     43      Commenced   2571 

"       ....    246  over  Upper,  188  over  Lower  Egypt. 


13th 
14th 
15th 
16th 
I7th 


Diospolites 
Xoite  .  . 
Shepherds 
Hellenes  . 
Shepherds 


SHEPHERD  INVASION. 


453  Five  dynasties  of  Shepherd  or 
484      native  kings  reigning  or  existing 

284  contemporaneously  in  four  series 
518       in  different  parts  of  Egypt  during 

151  511  years. 

435 


GREAT  THEBAN  KINGDOM. 


18th 

» 

Theban    .  . 

.    .  393 

19th 

.    .  194 

20th 

>> 

>> 

.  135 

21st 

)> 

Tanite     .  . 

.    .  130 

22d 

)) 

Bubastite .  . 

.    .  120 

23d 

)) 

Tanite     .  . 

.    .  89 

24th 

>> 

Sa'ite   .    .  . 

.    .  44 

25th 

jj 

Ethiopian 

.    .  44 

26th 

5) 

Saite   .    .  . 

»    .  155 

Over  all  Egypt   1819 

  1436 

Exode  of  Jews,  1312. 

  1242 

  1107 

  977 

Temple  of  Jerusalem  plundered,  972. 

  857 

  768 

  724 

  680 


Persian  Invasion  under  Cambyses   526 ^ 


1  The  above  scheme  of  Egyptian 
Chronology  was  published  by  me  in  the 
*'  True  Principles  of  Beauty  in  Art,"  in 
1849;  and  the  data  on  which  it  was 
based  were  detailed  in  the  Appendix  to 
that  work.     As  there  seems  to  be 


nothing  in  the  subsequent  researches  or 
discoveries  which  at  all  invalidates  the 
reasoning  on  which  the  table  was 
founded,  it  is  here  reproduced  in  an 
abridged  form  as  originally  set  forth. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


89 


BOOK  1. 
EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 

CHAPTER  1. 
INTRODUCTORY. 

IN  any  consecutive  narrative  of  the  architectural  undertakings  of 
mankind  the  description  of  what  was  done  in  Egypt  necessarily 
commences  the  series,  not  only  because  the  records  of  authentic  history 
are  found  in  the  Valley  of  the  Nile  long  before  the  traditions  of  other 
nations  had  assumed  anything  like  tangible  consistency,  but  because, 
from  the  earliest  dawn  down  to  the  time  when  Christianity  struck 
down  the  old  idolatry,  the  inhabitants  of  that  mysterious  land  were 
essentially  and  pre-eminently  a  building  race.  Were  it  not  for  this  we 
should  be  left  with  the  dry  bones  of  the  skeleton  of  her  history,  which 
is  all  that  is  left  us  of  the  dynasties  of  Manetlio ;  or  with  the  fables 
in  which  ignorant  and  credulous  European  travellers  expressed  their 
wonder  at  a  civilization  they  could  not  comprehend. 

As  the  case  now  stands,  the  monuments  of  Egypt  give  life  and  reality 
to  their  whole  history.  It  is  impossible  for  any  educated  man  capable 
of  judging  of  the  value  of  evidence,  to  wander  among  the  Pyramids 
and  tombs  of  Memphis,  the  Temples  of  Thebes,  or  the  vast  structures; 
erected  by  the  Ptolemys  or  CaBsars,  and  not  to  feel  that  he  has  before 
him  a  chapter  of  history  more  authentic  than  we  possess  of  any  nation 
at  all  approaching  it  in  antiquity,  and  a  picture  of  men  and  manners 
more  vivid  and  more  ample  than  remains  to  us  of  any  other  people 
who  have  passed  away. 

As  we  wander  among  the  tombs  or  temples  of  Egypt  we  see  the 
very  chisel-marks  of  the  mason,  and  the  actual  colors  of  the  painter 
which  were  ordered  by  a  Suphis  or  a  Rhamses,  and  we  stand  face  to 
face  with  works  the  progress  of  which  they  watched,  and  which 
they  designed  in  order  to  convey  to  posterity  what  their  thoughts  and 
feelings  were,  and  what  they  desired  to  record  for  the  instruction  of 
future  generations.  All  is  there  now,  and  all  who  care  may  learn  what 
these  old  kings  intended  should  be  known  by  their  remotest  posterity. 


90 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


Immense  progress  has  been  made  in  unravelling  the  intricacies 
of  Egyptian  history  since  the  time  when  Champollion,  profiting 
by  the  discovery  of  Young,  first  translated  the  hieroglyphical  in- 
scriptions that  cover  the  walls  of  Egyptian  buildings.  Of  late  years 
it  has  been  too  frequently  assumed  that  his  works,  Avith  those  of 
Rosellini,  of  Wilkinson,  and  Lepsius,  and  the  numerous  other  authors 
wlio  have  applied  themselves  to  Egyptology,  had  told  us  all  we  are 
ever  likely  to  know  of  her  history.  In  so  far  as  the  epochs  of  the 
great  Pharaonic  dynasties  of  Thebes  are  concerned  this  may  be  partially 
true,  but  it  is  only  since  M.  Mariette  undertook  the  systematic 
exploration  of  the  great  Necropolis  of  Memphis  that  we  have  been 
enabled  to  realize  the  importance  of  the  older  dynasties,  and  become 
aware  of  the  completeness  of  the  records  they  have  left  behind  them. 
Much  as  we  have  learned  during  the  last  forty  years,  recent  explo- 
rations have  taught  us  that  the  soil  of  Egypt  is  not  half  exhausted  yet ; 
and  every  day  our  knowledge  is  assuming  a  consistency  and  complete- 
ness as  satisfactory  as  it  is  wonderful. 

Although  there  are  still  minor  differences  of  opinion  with  regard  to 
the  details  of  Egyptian  chronology,  still  the  divergences  between  the 
various  systems  proposed  are  gradually  narrowing  in  extent.  The 
sequence  of  events  is  certain,  and  accepted  by  all.  The  initial  date, 
and  the  adjustments  depending  on  it,  are  alone  in  dispute.  -  The  truth 
is  that  every  subsequent  step  in  the  investigation  has  tended  more  and 
more  to  prove  the  correctness  of  the  data  furnished  by  the  lists  of 
Manetho,  and  the  only  important  question  is,  "what  is  Manetho?" 
His  work  is  lost.  The  only  real  extracts  we  have  from  the  original  are 
those  in  "  Joseph  us  contra  Apion."  The  lists  in  Eusebius  and  Syncellus 
or  Africanus  have  avowedly  been  adjusted  to  suit  preconceived  theories 
of  Biblical  chronology  ;  but  on  the  whole  a  great  preponderance  of  evi- 
dence seems  in  favor  of  assuming  that  he  really  intended  to  fix  the 
year  3906  as  the  initial  year  of  the  reign  of  Menes,^  or  some  year  within 
a  very  short  distance  of  that  date.  Some  years  ago  this  would  have 
seemed  to  suffice,  but  so  many  new  monuments  have  been  disinterred  of 
late,  so  many  new  names  of  kings  added  to  our  lists,  that  the  tendency 
is  now  rather  to  extend  than  to  contract  this  limit  of  dui-ation. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  what  we  really  do  know  absolutely  is  that 
there  was  an  old  kingdom  of  pyramid-builders,  comprising  the  first 
ten  dynasties  of  Manetho,  who  reigned  at  Memphis.  These,  after 
a  period  of  decadence,  were  superseded  by  kings  of  a  different  race 
coming  from  the  south  ;  and  that  these,  after  a  short  j^eriod  of  glory, 
were  conquered  by  an  Asiatic  race  of  hated  Shepherd  Kings. 

After  five  centuries  of  foreign  domination,  the  Shepherds  in  their 
turn  were  driven  out,  and  the  new  kingdom  founded.    This,  after 


1  Syncellus,  Chron.  p.  98,  ed.  Dindorff,  Bonn,  1829. 


Bk.  I.  Cn.  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


91 


witnessing  the  glories  of  the  18th  and  19th  dynasties,  declined  during 
the  next  seven  dynasties  till  they  were  struck  down  by  the  Persian 
Carnbyses. 

A  third  period  of  architectural  magnificence  arose  with  the 
Ptoleinys,  and  was  continued  by  the  Caesars  on  nearly  the  same  scale 
of  magnificence  as  the  second  kingdom  ;  but  wanting  its  exuberant 
nationality,  and  far  below  the  quiet  grandeur  of  the  earlier  epoch. 

In  counting  backwards  the  dates  of  these  dynasties,  the  first 
authentic  synchronism  we  meet  with  is  that  of  Shishak,  the  first  king 
of  the  22nd  dynasty,  contempoi-ary  with  Rehoboam,  about  970  b.  c. 

The  next  is  the  Exode  of  the  Jews,  which  took  place  1312  b.  c, 
under  the  reign  of  Amenoph,  tlie  third  king  of  the  19th  dynasty  of 
Manetho.  Many  would  place  it  earlier,  but  none  probably  would  bring 
that  event  down  to  a  more  modern  date. 

From  this  date  Josephus  tells  us  that  Manetho  counted  518  years 
to  the  expulsion  of  the  Shepherds,  and  511  for  the  duration  of  their 
sojourn  in  Egypt, ^  we  thus  get  back  to  2340  for  the  first  year  of 
Salatis.  There  then  remain  only  fifteen  centuries  and  a  half,  in  which 
we  have  to  arrange  the  two  great  Theban  dynasties  (the  11th  and 
12th),  which  reigned  for  more  than  two  centuries  over  the  whole  of 
Egypt ;  while  the  12th  seems  to  have  extended  some  distance  into  the 
period  occupied  by  the  Sliepherds.  We  are  thus  left  with  little  more 
than  1300  years  over  which  to  spread  the  ten  first  dynasties,  notwith- 
standing that  some  60  or  70  of  their  royal  sepulchral  pyramids  still 
adorn  the  banks  of  tlie  Nile  ;  and  we  have  many  names  to  which  no 
tombs  can  be  attached,  and  many  pyramids  may  have  })erished  during 
the  5000  years  which  have  elapsed  since  the  greater  number  of  tliem 
were  erected. 

Long  as  these  periods  may  to  some  appear,  they  are  certainly  the 
shortest  that  any  one  familiar  with  the  recent  progress  of  Egyptian 
research  would  be  willing^  to  assij^n  to  them.  But  in  whatever  lio-ht 
they  may  be  viewed,  they  sink  into  utter  insignificance  when  compared 
with  the  periods  that  must  have  elapsed  before  Egypt  could  have 
reached  that  stage  of  civilization  in  which  we  find  her  when  her 
existence  first  dawns  upon  us.  If  one  point  in  Egyptian  history  is 
proved  with  more  certainty  than  another,  it  is  that  the  great  Pyramids 
of  Gizeh  were  erected  by  the  kings  of  the  4th  dynasty ;  and  it  seems 
impossible  to  find  room  for  the  now  ascertained  facts  of  Egyptian 
chronology,  unless  we  place  their  erection  between  3000  and  3500 
years  before  the  Christian  era. 

No  one  can  possibly  examine  the  interior  of  the  Great  Pyramid 
without  being  struck  with  astonishment  at  the  wonderful  mechanical 
skill  displayed  in  its  construction.    The  immense  blocks  of  granite 


''Josephus  contra  Apion,"  i.  14,  16  and  26. 


92 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


brought  from  Syene  —  a  distance  of  500  miles  —  polished  like  glass,  and 
so  fitted  that  the  joints  can  hardly  be  detected.  Nothing  can  be  more 
wonderful  than  the  extraordinary  amount  of  knowledge  displayed  in 
the  construction  of  the  discharging  chambers  over  the  roof  of  the 
principal  apartment,  in  the  alignment  of  the  sloping  galleries,  in  the 
provision  of  ventilating  shafts,  and  in  all  the  wonderful  contrivances 
of  the  structure.  All  these,  too,  are  carried  out  with  such  precision 
that,  notwithstanding  the  immense  superincumbent  weight,  no  settle- 
ment in  any  part  can  be  detected  to  the  extent  of  an  appreciable 
fraction  of  an  inch.  Nothing  more  perfect,  mechanically,  has  ever 
been  erected  since  that  time ;  and  we  ask  ourselves  in  vain,  how  long 
it  must  have  taken  before  men  acquired  such  experience  and  such 
skill,  or  w^ere  so  perfectly  organized,  as  to  contemplate  and  complete 
such  undertakings. 

Around  the  base  of  the  pyramid  are  found  numerous  structural 
tombs,  whose  walls  bear  the  cartouche  of  the  same  king  —  Suphis  — 
whose  name  was  found  by  Colonel  Howard  Yyse  in  one  of  the  previously 
unopened  chambers  of  the  Great  Pyramid.^  These  are  adorned  with 
paintings  so  numerous  and  so  complete,  as  to  enable  us  to  realize  with 
singular  completeness  the  state  of  Egyptian  society  at  that  early  ])eriod. 

On  their  walls  the  owner  of  the  tomb  is  usually  represented  seated, 
offering  first  fruits  on  a  simple  table-altar  to  an  unseen  god.  He  is 
generally  accompanied  by  his  wife,  and  surrounded  by  his  stewards 
and  servants,  who  enumerate  his  w^ealth  in  horned  cattle,  in  asses,  in 
sheep  and  goats,  in  geese  and  ducks.  In  other  pictures  some  are 
ploughing  and  sowing,  some  reaping  or  thrashing  out  the  corn,  while 
others  are  tending  his  tame  monkeys  or  cranes,  and  other  domesticated 
pets.  Music  and  dancing  add  to  the  circle  of  domestic  enjoyments, 
and  fowling  and  fishing  occupy  his  days  of  leisure.  No  sign  of  soldiers 
or  of  warlike  strife,  appears  in  any  of  these  pictures  ;  no  arms,  no 
chariots  or  horses.  No  camels  suggest  foreign  travel.  Everything 
there  represented  speaks  of  peace  at  home  and  abroad,^  of  agricultural 
wealth  and  consequent  content.  In  all  these  pictures  the  men  are 
represented  with  an  ethnic  and  artistic  trutli  that  enables  us  easily  to 
recognize  their  race  and  station.  The  animals  are  not  only  easily 
distinguishable,  but  the  characteristic  peculiarities  of  each  species  are 
seized  with  a  power  of  generalization  seldom  if  ever  surpassed;  and 
the  hieroglyphic  system  w^hich  forms  the  legend  and  explains  the 
whole,  was  as  complete  and  perfect  as  at  any  future  period. 

More  striking  than  even  the  paintings  are  the  portrait-statues 


1  Yyse,  "  Operations  on  the  Pyramids 
at  Gizeh  in  1837,"  vol.  i.  p.  279,  et  seq. 

2  At  Wady  Meghara,  in  the  Sinaitic 
peninsula,  a  king  of  the  4th  dynasty  is 


represented  as  slaying  an  Asiatic  en- 
emy. It  is  the  only  sign  of  strife  which 
has  yet  been  discovered  belongiiig  to  this 
ancient  kingdom.  Lepsius,  Abt.  ii.  pi.  39. 


♦ 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  1. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


93 


which  have  recently  been  discovered  in  the  secret  recesses  of  these 
totnbs ;  nothing  more  wonderfully  truthful  and  realistic  has  been  done 
since  that  time,  till  the  invention  of  photography,  and  even  that  can 
hardly  represent  a  man  with  such  unflattering  truthfulness  as  these 
old  colored  terra-cotta  portraits  of  the  sleek  rich  men  of  the  pyramid 
period. 

Wonderful  as  all  this  maturity  of  art  may  be  when  found  at  so 
early  a  period,  the  problem  becomes  still  more  perplexing  when  we 
again  ask  ourselves  how  long  a  people  must  have  lived  and  recorded 
their  exj^terience  before  they  came  to  realize  and  aspire  to  an  eternity 
such  as  the  building  of  these  pyramids  shows  that  they  sacrificed 
everything  to  attain.  One  of  their  great  aims  was  to  preserve  the 
body  intact  for  3000  years,  in  order  that  the  soul  might  again  be 
united  with  it  when  the  day  of  judgment  arrived.  But  what  taught 
them  to  contemjilate  such  periods  of  time  with  confidence,  and, 
stranger  still,  how  did  they  learn  to  realize  so  daring  an  aspiration? 

Nor  is  our  wonder  less  when  we  ask  ourselves  how  it  happened  that 
such  a  people  became  so  thoroughly  organized  at  that  early  age  as  to 
be  willing  to  undertake  the  greatest  architectural  works  the  world  has 
since  seen,  in  honor  of  one  man  from  among  themselves  ?  A  king 
without  an  army,  and  with  no  claim,  so-far  as  we  can  see,  to  such  an 
honor  beyond  the  common  consent  of  all,  which  could  hardly  have 
been  obtained  except  by  the  title  of  long  inherited  services  acknowl- 
edged by  the  community  nt  large. 

It  would  be  difticult  to  find  any  other  example  which  so  fully 
illustrates  the  value  of  architecture  as  a  mode  of  writing  history  as 
this.  It  is  possible  there  may  have  been  nations  as  old  and  as  early 
civilized  as  the  Egyptians :  but  they  were  not  builders,  and  their 
memory  is  lost.  It  is  to  their  architecture  alone  that  we  owe  the  j^res- 
ervation  of  what  we  know  of  this  old  people.  And  it  is  the  knowledge 
so  obtained  that  adds  such  interest  to  the  study  of  their  art. 

In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  it  may  seem  an  idle  specula- 
tion to  suggest  that  the  Egyptian  and  Chinese  are  two  fragments  of 
one  great  i^rimordial  race,  widely  separated  now  by  the  irruption  of 
other  Turanian  and  Aryan  races  between  them ;  but  this  at  least  is 
certain,  that  in  manners  and  customs,  in  arts  and  polity,  in  religion 
and  civilization,  these  two  people  more  closely  resemble  one  another 
than  any  other  two  nations  wdiich  have  existed  since,  even  when 
avowedly  of  similar  race  and  living  in  proximity  to  one  another. 

At  the  earliest  period  at  which  Chinese  history  open  upon  us,  we 
find  the  same  amount  of  civilization  maintaining  itself  utterly  unpro- 
gressively  to  the  present  day.  The  same  peaceful  industry  and  agri- 
cultural wealth  accompanied  by  the  same  outwardly  pleasing  domestic 
relations  and  apparent  content.     The  same  exceptional  mode  of 


94 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTUllE. 


Taut  I. 


writing.  The  same  want  of  power  to  assimilate  with  surrounding 
nations.  Both  hating  war,  but  reverencing  their  kings,  and  counting 
their  chronology  by  dynasties  exactly  as  the  Egyptians  have  always 
done.  Their  religions  seem  wonderfully  alike,  and  both  are  charac- 
terized by  the  same  fearlessness  of  death,  and  the  same  calm  enjoyment 
in  the  contemplation  of  its  advent.^ 

In  fact,  there  is  no  peculiarity  in  the  old  kingdom  of  Egypt  that 
has  not  its  counterpart  in  China  at  the  present  day,  though  more  or 
less  modified,  perhaps,  by  local  circumstances ;  and  there  is  nothing  in 
the  older  system  which  we  cannot  understand  by  using  proper  illus- 
trations, derived  from  what  we  see  passing  under  our  immediate 
observation  in  the  far  East.  The  great  lesson  we  learn  from  the  study 
of  the  history  of  China,  as  bearing  on  that  of  Egypt  is,  that  all  idea  of 
the  impossibility  of  the  recorded  events  in  the  latter  country  is  taken 
away  by  reference  to  the  other.  Neither  the  duration  of  the  Egyptian 
dynasties,  nor  the  early  perfection  of  her  civilization,  or  its  strange 
persistency,  can  be  objected  to  as  improbable.  What  we  know  has 
happened  in  Asia  in  modern  times  may  certainly  have  taken  place  in 
Africa,  though  at  an  earlier  period. 


1  By  a  singular  coincidence,  Oliina 
has  been  suffering  from  a  Ilyksos  domi- 
nation of  Tartar  conquerors,  precisely 
as  Egypt  did  after  the  period  of  the 
Pyramid  builders,  and,  strange  to  say, 
for  about  the  same  period  —  five  cen- 


turies. Had  the  Taepings  been  success- 
ful, we  should  have  witnessed  in  China 
the  exact  counterpart  of  what  took  place 
in  Egypt  when  the  first  native  kings  of 
the  eighteenth  dynasty  expelled  the 
hated  race. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


95 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  PYRAMIDS  AND  CONTEMPORARY  MONUMENTS. 

LEAVING  these  speculations  to  be  developed  more  fully  in  the 
sequel,  let  us  now  turn  to  the  pyramids  —  the  oldest,  largest,  and 
most  mysterious  of  all  the  monuments  of  man's  art  now  existing. 
All  those  in  Egypt  are  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Nile,  just 
beyond  the  cultivated  ground,  and  on  the  edge  of  the  desert,  and  all 
the  principle  examples  within  what  may  fairly  be  called  the  Necrop- 
olis of  Memphis.  Sixty  or  seventy  of  these  have  been  discovered 
and  explored,  all  which  appear  to  be  royal  sepulchres.  This  alone,  if 
true,  would  suffice  to  justify  us  in  assigning  a  duration  of  1000  years 
at  least  to  the  dynasties  of  the  pyramid  builders,  and  this  is  about 
the  date  we  acquire  from  other  sources. 

The  three  great  pyramids  of  Gizeh  are  the  most  remarkable  and 
the  best  known  of  all  those  of  Egypt.  Of  these  the  first,  erected  by 
Cheops,  or,  as  he  is  now  more  correctly  named,  Suphis,  is  the  largest ; 
but  the  next,  by  Chepheren,  his  successor,  is  scarcely  inferior  in  dimen- 
sions ;  the  third,  that  of  Mycerinus,  is  very  much  smaller,  but  excelled 
the  two  others  in  this,  that  it  had  a  coating  of  beautiful  red  granite 
from  Syene,  while  the  other  two  were  reveted  only  with  the  beautiful 
limestone  of  the  country.  Part  of  this  coating  still  remains  near  the 
top  of  the  second;  and  Colonel  Vyse^  was  fortunate  enough  to  dis- 
cover some  of  the  coping-stones  of  the  Great  Pyramid  buried  in  the 
rubbish  at  its  base.  These  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  whole,  and  to  show  that  it  was  commenced  from  the 
bottom  and  carried  upwards ;  not  at  the  top,  as  it  has  sometimes 
been  thoughtlessly  asserted. 

The  dimensions  of  these  three,  as  ascertained  by  the  copings,  are 
as  follows,  according  to  the  most  recent  determination  by  Professor 
Piazzi  Smyth  and  others :  — 

Side  of  base.       Height.  Area  in  Angle  of  Angle  ot 

Feet.  Feet.  square  feet.  side.  passage. 

Cheops  .  .  760  .  .  484  .  .  577,600  .  .  51°  51'  .  .  26^27' 
Chepheren.  707  .  .  4.54  .  .  499,849  .  .  52  20  .  .  25  55 
Mycerinus.    354    .    .    218    .    .    125,316    .    .    51  00    .    .    26  20'^ 


1  Col.  H.  Vyse,  *'  Operations  carried  !  2  ^j^g  measures  quoted  in  the  text  are 
on  at  the  Pyramids  of  Gizeh  in  1837."  j  generally  taken  from  the  elaborate  sur- 
Lond.  1840-43.  |  veys  made  by  Mr.  Perring  for  Colonel 


9C)  EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  Part  I. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  area  of  the  Great  Pyramid  (more 
than  13  acres)  is  more  than  twice  the  extent  of  that  of  St.  Peter's  at 
Rome,  or  of  any  other  building  in  the  world.  Its  height  is  equal  to 
the  highest  spire  of  any  cathedral  in  Europe ;  for,  though  it  has  been 
attempted  to  erect  higher  buildings,  in  no  instance  has  this  yet  been 
successfully  achieved.  Even  the  third  pyramid  covers  more  ground 
than  any  Gothic  cathedral,  and  the  mass  of  materials  it  contains  far 
surpasses  that  of  any  erection  we  possess  in  Europe. 

All  the  pyramids  (with  one  exception)  face  exactly  north,  and  have 
their  entrance  on  that  side  —  a  circumstance  the  more  remarkable,  as 
the  later  builders  of  Thebes  appear  to  have  had  no  notion  of  orientation, 
but  to  have  placed  their  buildings  and  tombs  so  as  to  avoid  regularity, 
and  facing  in  every  conceivable  direction.  Instead  of  the  entrances 
to  the  pyramids  being  level,  they  all  slope  downwards — generally  at 
angles  of  about  26°  to  the  horizon  —  a  circumstance  which  has  led  to 
an  infinity  of  speculation,  as  to  whether  they  were  not  observatories, 
and  meant  for  the  observation  of  the  pole-star,  etc.^  All  these  theories, 
however,  have  failed,  for  a  variety  of  reasons  it  is  needless  now  to 
discuss ;  but  among  others  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  angles  are 
not  the  same  in  any  two  pyramids,  though  erected  within  a  few  years 
of  one  another,  and  in  the  twenty  which  were  measured  by  Colonel 
Vyse  they  vary  from  22°  35'  to  34°  5'.  The  angle  of  the  inclination 
of  the  side  of  the  pyramid  to  the  horizon  is  more  constant,  varying 
only  from  51°  10'  to  52°  32',  and  in  the  Gizeh  pyramids  it  would 
appear  that  the  angle  of  the  passage  was  intended  to  have  been  about 
one-half  of  this. 

One  plausible  theory  seems  to  be,  that  the  faces  of  the  pyramid 
were  intended  to  be  practically  four  equilateral  triangles,  laid  against 
one  another,  and  meeting  at  the  apex.  For  instance,  in  the  three 
great  pyramids  at  Gizeh,  the  ratios  of  the  sloping  edges  to  the  base 
are  as  follows :  — 

Base.  slo^pTnfeV/e.  I^'^— ' 

Great  Pvramid   760  feet   .    .    723  feet    .    .    37  feet. 

Second  Pyramid  ....  707  "  .  .  672  "  .  .  35  " 
Third  Pyramid   354   "     .    .    330  "     .    .    24  " 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  difference  is  least  —  about  5  per  cent— 
in  the  second  pyramid,  the  one  which  retains  the  greatest  part  of  its 


Yyse,  which  are  by  far  the  most  com- 
plete and  correct  which  have  yet  been 
pubHshed.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to 
warn  the  reader  that  Mr.  Perring  pub- 
lished two  sets  of  measurements,  those 
from  actual  observation,  which  are  those 
followed  in  the  text,  and  another  set 
corrected  according  to  his  theory  of  what 


they  ought  to  have  been,  supposing  every 
part  to  have  been  set  out  of  an  even 
number  of  Egyptian  cubits.  In  most 
instances  his  theory  agrees  pretty  closely 
with  his  observations,  but  is  generally 
more  likely  to  mislead  than  guide  the 
reader. 

1  They  are  situated  in  latitude  30°  N. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II.     THE  PYRAMIDS  AND  CONTEMPORARY  MONUMENTS.  97 


coping  ;  and  there  may  be  some  error  in  the  measurement  of  the  others 
derived  from  a  single  coping-stone. 

Even,  however,  if  this  were  mathematically  correct  for  any  one 
pyramid  —  which  it  is  not  —  it  must,  ipso  facto^  be  incorrect  for  all  the 
others,  as  no  two  follow  the  same  system.  Notwithstanding  this,  men 
of  high  scientific  attainments  have  of  late  claimed  for  these  monu- 
ments a  degree  of  accuracy  which  no  building — not  even  the  Parthenon 
—  apparently  ever  attained  to.  It  has  been  even  asserted  that  God 
revealed  to  Cheops  the  difference  in  the  lengths  of  the  polar  and  equar 
torial  diameters  of  the  earth  and  a  variety  of  interesting  astronomical 
information,  and  commanded  him  to  build  these  facts  into  the  Great 
Pyramid  in  British  inches  —  which  did  not  then  exist!  ^  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  point  out  how  utterly  baseless  all  such  speculations  are, 
nor  to  explain  that  the  facts  alluded  to  are  only  now  being  obtained 
by  careful  measurements  made  with  recently  invented  modern 
appliances.  When,  however,  we  come  to  look  a  little  more  closely  on 
the  Great  Pyramid  itself,  its  accuracy  is  by  no  means  worthy  of  the 
divine  origin  claimed  for  it. 

According  to  a  careful  survey  made  by  a  party  of  Royal  Engineers 
returning  from  Sinai,  and  which  is  probably  correct  within  an  inch 
or  two,  — 

The  four  sides  measure:  East    9129*5  inches. 

North  9127-5  " 
West  9121-0  " 
South  9140-5  " 

Differences  of  more  than  one  foot  and  a  half  in  such  a  distance  would 
hardly  occur  in  a  modern  building  set  out  in  a  perfectly  clear  level 
surface.  Even  the  level  of  the  sockets  show  discrepancies  to  about 
the  same  extent.    They  are  as  follows  :  — 

S.E.  angle:    0-000  feet. 

N.E.    "      +1-464  "  • 
S.W.    "     +1-458  " 
N.W.  +0-636  " 

Practically  these  are  of  very  little  moment  in  setting  out  such  a  building, 
but  when  perfection  is  claimed  for  it  they  become  important,  and  are 
in  themselves  quite  sufficient  to  upset  all  the  fine-drawn  theories  thai 
have  been  based  on  the  supposed  perfection  of  the  pyramid  measures. 

The  one  fact  of  value  that  we  seem  to  have  obtained  from  these 
recent  pyramid  investigations  is,  that  the  side  of  the  pyramid  was 
intended  to  be  an  even  number  of  500  Egyptian  cubits;  and  as  we 
learn  from  Herodotus  ("Euterpe,"  168)  that  the  Egyptian  was  the  same 
as  the  Greek  cubit,  or  that  of  Samos,  we  have^  18-2405  in.  X  500,  or 


1  "  Antiquity  of  Intellectual  Man," 
by  Piazzi  Smyth.  Edin.  1868,  p.  240 
et  passim. 

2  Determined  by  Penrose  in  1846  from 

VOL.  I. —  7 


measurements  of  the  Hecatompedon, 
and  since  corrected  by  him  in  a  letter  to 
Sir  Henry  James  in  1869.  —  "Notes  on 
Great  Pyramid,"  Southampton,  1869. 


98 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


9120  in.  — or  as  nearly  as  may  be  the  mean  of  the  above  measurements.' 
In  the  same  pamphlet  Sir  Henry  James  also  suggests  that  the  angle 
of  the  pyramid  was  set  out  as  10  horizontal  to  9  vertical.  This  would 
give  an  angle  of  41-59,  which  is  very  near  the  truth,  and  the  angle  of 
the  sides  being  51-51  would  give  483-66  feet  for  the  total  height. 
Piazzi  Smyth,  however,  makes  the  angle  51-51-14,2  and  the  total  height 
485,  which  is  probably  even  more  exact ;  but  whichever  we  adopt  we 
get  the  very  common  proportion  that  the  height  is  to  the  circum- 
ference as  the  radius  is  to  the  circumference  of  a  circle ;  tluis,  taking 
the  mean  height  of  484  feet,  we  have  484  x2x8-1416  =  3041, 
while  760  X  4  is  equal  to  3040 —  so  near  a  coincidence  that  it  can 
hardly  be  accidental,  and  if  it  was  intended,  all  the  other  external 
proportions' follow  as  a  matter  of  course. 

Even  if  this  theory  should  not  be  accepted  as  the  true  one,  it  has 
at  least  tlie  merit  of  being  nearer  the  truth  than  any  other  yet 
proposed.  I  confess  it  appears  to  me  so  likely  that  I  would  hardly 
care  to  go  further,  especially  as  all  the  astronomical  theories  have 
signally  failed,  and  it  seems  as  if  it  were  only  to  some  numerical 
fancy  that  we  must  look  for  the  solution  of  the  puzzle. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  small  residuum  we  get  frotn  all  these 
pyramid  discussions  is,  that  they  were  built  by  the  kings  of  the  early 
dynasties  of  the  old  kingdom  of  Egypt  as  their  tombs.  The  leading 
idea  that  governed  their  forms  was  of  durability  —  a  quasi-eternity 
of  duration  is  what  tliey  aimed  at.  The  entrances  were  meant  to  be 
concealed,  and  the  angle  of  the  passages  was  the  limit  of  rest  at 
which  heavy  bodies  could  be  moved  while  obtaining  the  necessary 
strength  where  they  opened  at  the  outside,  and  the  necessary  diffi- 
culty for  protection  inside,  without  trenching  on  impossibility.  By 
concealment  of  the  entrance,  the  difficulties  of  the  passages,  and  the 
Complicated  but  most  ingenious  arrangement  of  portcullises,  these 
ancient  kings  hoped  to  be  allowed  to  rest  in  undisturbed  security 
for  at  least  3000  years.  Perhaps  they  were  successful,  though  their 
tombs  have  since  been  so  shamefully  profaned. 

To  the  principal  dimensions  of  the  Great  Pyramid  given  above  it 
may  be  added  that  the  entrance  is  about  47  ft.  6  in.  above  the  base,  on 
the  15th  step  or  platform.  There  are  in  all  203  such  steps.  Their  aver- 
age height  is  nearly  2  ft.  6  in.,  but  they  diminish  in  height  —  generally 
speaking,  but  not  uniformly — towards  the  top.  The  summit  now  consists 
of  a  platform  32  ft.  8  in.  square ;  so  that  about  24  ft.  is  wanting,  the 
present  actual  height  being  456  ft.  It  contains  2  chambers  above-ground, 
and  1  cut  in  the  rock  at  a  considerable  depth  below  the  foundations. 


1  The  result  of  these  determinations 
is  that  the  English  is  to  the  Greek  or 
Egyptian  foot,  as  75  is  to  76  exactly. 


^  "  Astronomical  Observations."  Ed* 
inburgh  Observatory,  1872,  p.  5. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II.     THE  PYRAMIDS  AND  CONTEMPORARY  MONUMENTS.  99 


Fig.  1. 


The  passages  and  chambers  are  worthy  of  the  mass ;  all  are  lined 
with  polished  granite ;  and  the  ingenuity  and  pains  that  have  been 
taken  to  render  them  solid  and  secure,  and  to  prevent  their  being 
crushed  by  the  superincumbent  mass,  raise  our  idea  of  Egyptian 
science  higher  than  even  the  bulk  of  the  building  itself  could  do. 

Towards  the  exterior,  where  the  pressure  is  not  great,  the  roof  is 
flat,  though  it  is  probable  that  even  there  the  weight  is  throughout 
discharged  by  2  stones,  sloping  up  at  a  certain  angle  to  where  they 
meet,  as  at  the  entrance.  Towards  the  centre  of  the  pyramid,  how- 
ever, the  passage  becomes  28  feet  high,  and  assumes  the  form  of  in- 
verted stairs,  as  shown  in  the  section  (fig.  1),  till  it  contracts  so  much 
at  the  top  that  no  pressure  can 
hurt  it.  Nowhere,  how^ever,  is  this 
ingenuity  more  shown  than  in  the 
royal  chamber,  which  measures  17 
ft.  1  in.  by  34  ft.  3  in.,  and  19  ft.  in 
height.  The  walls  are  lined  and 
the  roof  is  formed  of  splendid  slabs 
of  Syenite,  but  above  the  roof  4 
successive  chambers,  as  shown  in 
the  annexed  section  (fig.  2),  have 
been  formed,  each  divided  from  the 
other  by  slabs  of  granite,  polished 

on  their   lower    surfaces,  but    left   No.  7.  section  of  King's  chamber  and  of  Pas- 

sage  in  Great  Pyramid.    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 

rough  on  the  upper,  and  above  these 

a  5th  chamber  is  formed  of  2  sloping  blocks  to  discharge  the  weight 
of  the  whole.  The  first  of  these  chambers  has  long  been  known  ;  the 
upper  four  were  discovered  and  first  entered  by  Colonel  Vyse,  and  it 
was  in  one  of  these  that  he  discovered  the  name  of  the  founder. 
This  was  not  engraved  as  a  record,  but  scribbled  in  red  paint  on  the 
stones,  apparently  as  a  quarry-mark,  or  as  an  address  to  the  king,  and 
accompanied  by  something  like  directions  for  their  position  in  the 
building.  The  interest  that  attaches  to  these  inscriptions  consists  in 
the  certainty  of  their  being  contemporary  records,  in  their  proving 
that  Suphis  was  the  founder  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  and  consequently 
fixing  its  relative  date  beyond  all  possibility  of  cavil.  This  is  the 
only  really  virgin  discovery  in  the  pyramids,  as  they  have  all  been 
opened  either  in  the  time  of  the  Greeks  or  Romans,  or  by  the  Maho- 
metans, and  an  unrifled  tomb  of  this  age  is  still  a  desideratum.  Until 
such  is  hit  upon  we  must  remain  in  ignorance  of  the  real  mode  of 
sepulture  in  those  days,  and  of  the  purpose  of  many  of  the  arrange- 
ments in  these  mysterious  buildings. ^ 


^  It  is  understood  that  M.  Mariette  which  throw  great  light  on  this  subject; 
has  discovered  some  cliambers  in  tombs  |  but  notliing  lias  yet  been  pubhshed. 


100 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I 


The  portcullises  which  invariably  close  the  entrances  of  the  sepul- 
chral chamber  in  the  pyramids  are  among  the  most  curious  and  inge- 
nious of  the  arrangements  of  these  buildings.  Generally  they  consist 
of  great  cubical  masses  of  granite,  measuring  8  or  10  ft.  each  way,  and 
consequently  weighing  50  or  60  tons,  and  even  more.  These  were 
fitted  into  chambers  prepared  during  the  construction  of  the  building, 
but  raised  into  the  upper  parts,  and,  being  lowered  after  the  body  was 
deposited,  closed  the  entrance  so  effectually  that  in  some  instances  it 
has  been  found  necessary  either  to  break  them  in  pieces,  or  to  cut  a 
passage  round  them,  to  gain  admission  to  the  chambers.  They  gene- 
rally slide  in  grooves  in  the  wall,  to  which  they  fit  exactly,  and  alto- 
gether show  a  degree  of  ingenuity  and  forethought  very  remarkable, 
considering  the  early  age  at  which  they  were  executed. 

In  the  Second  Pyramid  one  chamber  has  been  discovered  partly 
above-ground,  partly  cut  in  the  rock.  In  the  Third  the  chambers  are 
numerous,  all  excavated  in  the  rock  ;  and  from  the  tunnels  that  have 
been  driven  by  explorers  through  the  superstructures  of  these  two,  it 
is  very  doubtful  whether  anything  is  to  be  found  above-ground.  It  is 
observable  that  the  measurements  of  the  Third  Pyramid  are  as  nearly 
as  possible  the  exact  halves  of  those  of  the  Second.  This  cannot 
have  been  unintentional. 

The  exceptional  pyramid  above  alluded  to  is  that  of  Saccara,  shown 
in  the  annexed  plan  and  section  (Woodcuts  Nos.  8  and  9),  both  to  the 
scale  of  100  ft.  to  1  in.  It  is  the  only  pyramid  that  does  not  face 
exactly  north  and  south.  It  is  nearly  of  the  same  general  dimensions 
as  the  Third  Pyramid,  or  that  of  Mycerinus ;  but  its  outline,  the  dis- 
position  of  its  chambers,  and  the  hieroglyphics  found  in  its  interior, 
all  would  seem  to  point  it  out  as  an  imitation  of  the  old  form  of 
mausolea  by  some  king  of  a  far  more  modern  date.  Some,  however, 
of  the  more  recent  authorities  seem  inclined  to  consider  this  pyramid 
as  the  oldest,  instead  of  the  most  modern,  and  to  ascribe  it  to  Mnevis, 
the  4th  king  of  the  First  dynasty,  assuming  that  the  hieroglyphics, 
etc.,  were  added  afterwards.  Further  research  will  be  required  to 
settle  this  point.  For  the  present  it  is  sufficient  to  know  that  it  lies 
outside  the  regular  series  of  pyramids,  and  is  of  a  date  either  anterior 
or  posterior  to  them  ;  but  most  probably  the  latter. 

All  the  old  pyramids  do  not  follow  the  simple  outline  of  those  of 
Gizeh.  That  at  Dashoor,  for  instance,  rises  to  half  its  height  with  a 
slope  of  54°  to  the  horizon,  but  is  finished  at  the  angle  of  45°,  giving 
it  a  very  exceptional  appearance  ;  and  that  of  Meydoon  has  more  the 
■  appearance  of  a  tower,  its  angle  being  74°  10'.  Two  smaller  towers 
rise  from  its  summit,  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  supposed  Assyrian 
pyramids  were  usually  constructed.  It  indeed  seems  not  to  have  been 
unusual  to  build  pyramids  in  stories  or  stages,  each  less  than  the 
other ;  though  it  is  possible  that  in  this  case  it  may  have  been  only 


102 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


a  temporary  or  preparatory  stage,  and  that  it  was  intended  eventually 
to  smooth  the  whole  down  to  the  more  orthodox  form  of  a  straight- 
sided  pyramid. 

Tombs. 

Around  the  pyramids,  not  only  at  Gizeh,  but  at  Saccara  — indeed, 
wherever  they  exist  —  numberless  smaller  sepulchres  are  found,  which 
appear  to  have  been  appropriated  to  private  individuals,  as  the 
pyramids  were  —  so  far  as  we  can  ascertain  —  reserved  for  kings  or, 
at  all  events,  for  persons  of  royal  blood.  These  have  as  yet  been 
only  partially  explored  and  still  more  imperfectly  described.  Their 
general  form  is  that  of  a  truncated  pyramid,  low,  and  looking  ex- 
ternally like  a  house  with  sloping  walls,  with  only  one  door  leading 
to  the  interior,  though  they  may  contain  several  apartments,  and  no 
attempt  is  made  to  conceal  the  entrance.  The  body  seems  to  have 
been  preserved  from  profanation  by  being  hid  in  a  well  of  con- 
siderable depth,  the  opening  into  which  was  concealed  in  the  thick- 
ness of  the  walls. 

Unlike  the  pyramids,  the  walls  are  covered  with  the  paintings 
above  alluded  to,  and  everything  in  tliis  "eternal  dwelling"  ^  of  tlie 

dead  is  made  to  resemble  the  abodes 
of  the  living ;  as  was  afterwards 
the  case  with  the  Etruscans.  It 
is  owing  to  this  circumstance  that 
we  are  able  not  only  to  realize  so 
perfectly  the  civil  life  of  the 
Egyptians  at  this  period,  but  to 
fix  the  dates  of  the  whole  series 
by  identifying  the  names  of  the 
kings  who  built  the  pyramids  with 
those  on  the  walls  of  the  tombs  that 
surround  them.^ 

Like  all  early  architecture,  that 
of  these  tombs  shows  evident  symp- 
toms of  having  been  borrowed  from 
a  wooden  original.  The  lintels  of  the 
doorways  are  generally  rounded, 

10.   Doorway  in  Tomb^at^he  Pyramids.        ^ud  the  Walls   mere   SquarC  pOStS, 

grooved  and  jointed  together,  every 
part  of  it  being  as  unlike  a  stone  architecture  as  can  possibly  be 


1  Diodorus,  i.  51. 

2  When  M.  Mariette's  recent  discover- 
ies in  these  tombs  shall  have  been  given 
to  the  world  in  a  tangible  form,  it  will 
enable  this  chapter  of  the  history  of  art 


to  be  written  with  a  completeness  and 
a  reality  of  which  no  one  can  well  have 
a  conception  who  has  not  seen  the  build- 
ings themselves.  At  present  no  sufficient 
data  exist  to  enable  others  to  realize  and 


Bk.  I.  Cu.  11. 


ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  ART. 


103 


conceived.  Yet  the  pyramids  themselves,  and  those  tombs  which 
are  found  outside  them,  are  generally  far  removed  from  the  forms 
employed  in  timber  structures  ;  and  it  is  only  when  we  find  the 
Egyptians  indulging  in  decorative  art  that  we  trace  this  more 
primitive  style.  There  are  two  doorways  of  this  class  in  the  British 
Museum  and  many  in  that  of  Berlin.  One  engraved  in  Lepsius's 
work  (Woodcut  No.  10)  gives  a  fair  idea  of  this  style  of  decorative  art, 
in  the  most  elaborate  form  in  which  we  now  know  it.  It  is  possible 
that  some  of  its  forms  may  have  been  derived  from  brick  architecture, 
but  the  lintel  certainly  was  of  wood,  and  so  it  may  be  suspected  were 
the  majority  of  its  features.  It  certainly  is  a  transitional  form,  and 
though  we  only  find  it  in  stone,  none  of  its  peculiarities  were  derived 
from  lithic  arts.  Perhaps  one  of  the  best  illustrations  of  the  archi- 
tectural forms  of  that  day  was  the  sarcophagus  of  Mycerinus,  unfor- 
tunately lost  on  its  way  to  England.  It  represented  a  palace,  with 
all  the  peculiarities  found  on  a  larger  scale  in  the  buildings  which 
surround  the  pyramid,  and  with  that  peculiar  cornice  and  still  more 
singular  roll  or  ligature  on  the  angles,  most  evidently  a  carpentry 
form,  but  which  the  style  retained  to  its  latest  day. 


11.  Sarcophagus  of  Myceriuus,  fouud  in  Third  Pyramid. 


In  many  of  these  tombs  square  piers  are  found  supporting  the  roof, 
sometimes,  but  rarely,  with  an  abacus,  and  generally  without  any 
carved  work,  though  it  is  more  than  probable  they  were  originally 
painted  with  some  device,  upon  which  they  depended  for  their  orna- 
ment. In  most  instances  they  look  more  like  fragments  of  a  wall,  of 
which  the  intervening  spaces  had  been  cut  away,  than  pillars  in  the 
sense  in  which  we  usually  understand  the  word  ;  and  in  every  case  in 
the  early  ages  they  must  be  looked  upon  more  as  utilitarian  expedients 
than  as  parts  of  an  ornamental  style  of  architecture. 


verify  the  extraordinary  revelation  it 
presents  to  us.  It  is  2000  years  older, 
and  infinitely  more  varied  and  vivid, 


tlian  tlie  Assyrian  pictures  which  re- 
cently excited  so  much  interest. 


104 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  Part  I. 


Temples. 

Till  very  recently  no  temples  had  been  discovered  which  could 
with  certainty  be  ascribed  to  the  age  of  the  pyramid  builders ;  one, 
however  was  excavated  a  few  years  ago,  from  the  sand  close  beside 
the  great  Sphinx  in  front  of  the  Second  Pyramid,  and  others,  it  is  said, 
have  since  been  found,  at  Saccara  and  elsewhere ;  but  no  account  of 
them  has  yet  been  published. 

That  at  Gizeh  is  not  remarkable  for  its  dimensions,  the  extreme 
length  being  only  about  100  feet,  the  extreme  breadth  the  same.i 
The  principal  chamber  in  the  form  of  a  cross  is  supported  by  piers, 
simple  prisms  of  syenite  granite,  without  base 
or  capital,  and  supporting  architraves  as  simple 
in  outline  as  themselves.  The  roof  of  this 
chamber  has  entirely  disappeared,  but  was  no 
doubt  originally  of  the  same  material.  The 
walls  are  generally  wainscotted  with  immense 
slabs  of  alabaster,  or  of  syenite  beautifully 
polished,  but  with  sloping  joints  and  uneven 
beds  —  a  form  of  masonry  not  uncommon  in 

12.  Sketch  plan  of  Temple  near    .1    .  tvt  i   ^  •         •  c 

the  Sphinx  (from  Donaldson.)  that  age.    JNo  sculpturc  or  Hiscription  ot  any 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in.         ^^^.^      ^^^^^^^      ^j^^  ^^^^jj^      ^^^^^  temple,^  no 

ornament  or  symbol,  nor  any  image,  in  the  sanctuary.  Statues  and 
tablets  of  Cephrenes,  the  builder  of  the  Second  Pyramid,  were  how- 
ever found  in  the  well,  and  in  places  clearly  showing  that  it  be- 
longed to  his  time. 

The  exterior  of  this  temple  has  not  yet  been  freed  from  the  sand 
in  which  it  has  so  long  lain  buried,  and  there  being  no  image  and  no 
inscription,  it  remains  somewhat  doubtful  to  whom  or  to  what  purpose 
it  was  dedicated.  Its  position,  however,  at  a  distance  of  60  or  70  feet 
from  the  great  Sphinx,  though  placed  unsym metrically  alongside  of 
it,  renders  it  probable  that  it  was  a  part  of  that  great  group. 

A  tablet  is  said  to  have  been  discovered,  in  which  Suphis,  the 
builder  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  records  some  repairs  he  had  done  to 
the  Si^hinx.s    If  this  is  correctly  read,  it  proves  its  existence  before 


1  These  dimensions  are  taken  from 
Professor  Donaldson's  plan,  published  in 
the  Transactions  of  the  Institute  of  Brit- 
ish Architects,  Feb.  1861.  It,  however, 
cannot  be  implicitly  relied  upon,  not 
from  any  fault  of  the  professor's,  but  be- 
cause he  was  closely  watched,  and  pre- 
vented as  far  as  possible  from  taking 
measurements  or  notes.  As  it  is  the 
only  thing  published,  it  must  suffice  for 
the  present. 


2  Lucian,  "De  Syria  Dea,"  ed.  Reet- 
zin,  tom.  iii.  p.  451,  alludes  to  the  fact 
of  the  old  temples  of  the  Egyptians  hav- 
ing no  images. 

3  *' Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,"  1st 
April,  1865,  p.  675,  et  seq.  In  this  art- 
icle M.  Renan  must  be  considered  as  the 
mouthpiece  of  M.  Mariette.  It  is  not  a 
satisfactory  form  of  publication,  but  it 
is  all  we  yet  have. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  ART. 


105 


the  pyramids,  and  long  before,  if  it  required  renovation  at  that  time. 
As  such  it  is  not  only  the  most  colossal,  but  the  oldest,  idol  of  the 
human  race  of  wliicli  we  have  now  any  knowledge.  It  does  not 
apparently  represent  a  heavenly  being,  but  seems  intended  to  sym- 
bolize the  strength  of  an  animal  added  to  the  intellect  of  a  man; — a 
combination  we  afterwards  find  repeated  in  so  many  forms  in  Assyria, 
but  hardly  even  there  considered  as  a  god.. 

Whether  or  not  the  temple  and  the  Sphinx  belong  to  one  another, 
this  at  least  seems  certain,  that  they  are  the  oldest  examples  of  their 
respective  classes  which  now  exist,  and  consequently  so  deeply  inter- 
esting as  to  make  us  long  for  a  more  complete  illustration  of  them 
than  has  yet  been  given  to  the  world.  The  temple,  which  is  being 
recovered  from  oblivion,  is  a  new  form,  and  when  made  known  may 
lead  to  the  most  important  rectificatign  of  our  ideas  on  the  subject. 

In  the  present  transitional  state  of  our  knowledge  of  the  archi- 
tectural art  of  the  pyramid  builders,  it  is  difficult  to  form  any  distinct 
judgment  as  to  its  merits.  The  early  Egyptians  built  neither  for 
beauty  nor  for  use,  but  for  eternity,  and  to  this  last  they  sacrificed 
every  other  feeling.  In  itself  nothing  can  be  less  artistic  than  a 
pyramid.  A  tower,  either  round  or  square,  or  of  any  other  form,  and 
of  the  same  dimensions,  would  have  been  far  more  imposing,  and  if 
of  sufficient  height  —  the  mass  being  the  same  —  might  almost  have 
attained  sublimity ;  but  a  pyramid  never  looks  so  large  as  it  is,  arid 
not  till  you  almost  touch  it  can  you  realize  its  vast  dimensions.  This 
is  owing  principally  to  all  its  parts  sloping  away  from  the  eye  instead 
of  boldly  challenging  observation ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  no  form  is 
so  stable,  none  so  capable  of  resisting  the  injuries  of  time  or  force, 
and  none,  consequently,  so  well  calculated  to  attain  the  object  for 
which  the  pyramids  were  erected .  As  examples  of  technic  art,  they 
are  unrivalled  among  the  Avorks  of  men,  but  they  rank  low  if  judged 
by  the  aesthetic  rules  of  architectural  art. 

The  same  may  be  ^aid  of  the  tombs  around  them ;  they  are  low 
and  solid ;  but  possess  neither  beauty  of  form  nor  any  architectural 
feature  worthy  of  attention  or  admiration,  but  they  have  lasted 
nearly  uninjured  from  the  remotest  artiquity,  and  thus  have  at- 
tained the  object  their  builders  had  principally  in  view  in  designing 
them. 

Their  temple  architecture,  on  the  other  hand,  may  induce  us  to 
modify  considerably  these  opinions.  The  one  described  above  — which 
is  the  only  one  I  personally  have  any  knowledge  of  —  is  perhaps  the 
simplest  and  least  adorned  temple  in  the  world.  All  its  parts  are 
plain  —  straight  and  square,  without  a  single  moulding  of  any  sort, 
but  they  are  perfectly  proportioned  to  the  work  they  have  to  do. 
They  are  pleasingly  and  effectively  arranged,  and  they  have  all 


106 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTUKE. 


Part  I. 


that  lithic  grandeur  which  is  inherent  in  large  masses  of  precious 
materials. 

Such  a  temple  as  that  of  the  Sphinx  cannot  compete  either  in 
richness  or  magnificence  with  the  great  temples  of  Thebes,  with  their 
sculptured  capitals  and  storied  walls,  but  there  is  a  beauty  of  repose 
and  an  elegance  of  simplicity  about  tlie  older  example  which  goes  far 
to  redeem  its  other  deficiencies,  and  when  we  have  more  examples 
before  us  they  may  rise  still  higher  in  our  estimation. 

Whatever  opinion  we  may  ultimately  form  regarding  their  archi- 
tecture, there  can  be  little  doubt  as  to  the  rank  to  be  assigned  to 
their  painting  and  sculpture.  In  these  two  arts  the  Egyptians  early 
attained  a  mastery  which  they  never  surpassed.  Judged  by  the 
rules  of  classic  or  of  modern  art,  it  appears  formal  and  conventional 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  it  difiicult  for  us  now  to  appreciate  its 
merits.  But  as  a  purely  Phonetic  form  of  art  —  as  used  merely  to 
enunciate  those  ideas  which  we  now  so  much  more  easily  express 
by  alphabetic  writings,  it  is  clear  and  precise  beyond  any  picture 
writings  the  world  has  since  seen.  Judged  by  its  own  rules,  it  is 
marvellous  to  what  perfection  the  Egyptians  had  attained  at  that 
early  period,  and  if  we  look  on  their  minor  edifices  as  mere  vehicles 
for  the  display  of  this  pictorial  expression,  we  must  modify  to  some 
extent  tlie  judgment  we  would  pass  on  them  as  mere  objects  of 
architectural  art. 


1 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  III. 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTUEE. 


107 


CHAPTER  III. 
FIRST  THEBAN  KINGDOM. 


XIlTH  DYNASTY  OF  MANEITIO. 

B.  c.  2528  ?  Lampares  (Labyrinth)  .  reigned  8  years. 

Sesonchosis    ....  reigned  46  years.  His  successors  ....      "      42  " 
Ammenemes  .    ..."      38     "  B.C. 2340? 

Sesostris  (Osortasen)  .      "      48  " 


THE  great  culminating  period  of  the  old  kingdom  of  Egypt  is  that 
belonging  to  the  4th  and  5th  dynasties.  Nine-tenths  of  the  monu- 
ments of  the  pyramid  builders  which  have  come  down  to  our  time 
belong  to  the  five  centuries  during  which  these  two  dynasties  ruled 
over  Egypt  (b.  c.  3500-3000). 

The  6th  dynasty  was  of  a  southern  and  more  purely  African 
origin.  On  the  tablets  of  Apap^  (Apophis),  its  most  famous  mon- 
arch, we  find  the  worship  of  Khem  and  other  deities  of  the  Theban 
period  wholly  unknown  to  the  pyramid  kings.  The  next  four  dynas- 
ties are  faineant  kings,  of  whom  we  know  little,  not  "  Carent  quia 
vate  sacro,"  but  because  they  were  not  builders,  and  their  memory  is 
lost.  The  11th  and  12th  usher  in  a  new  state  of  affairs.  The  old 
Memphite  pyramid-building  kingdom  had  passed,  with  its  peaceful 
contentment,  and  had  given  place  to  a  warlike,  idolatrous  race  of 
Theban  kings,  far  more  purely  African,  the  prototypes  of  the  great 
monarchy  of  the  18th  and  19th  dynasties,  and  having  no  affinity  with 
anything  we  know  of  as  existing  in  Asia  in  those  times. 

Their  empire  lasted  apparently  for  more  than  300  years  in  Upper 
Egypt ;  but  for  the  latter  portion  of  that  period  they  do  not  seem  to 
have  reigned  over  the  whole  country,  having  been  superseded  in 
Lower  Egypt  by  the  invasion  of  the  hated  Hyksos,  or  Shepherd 
kings,  about  the  year  2300  b.  c,  and  by  whom  they  also  were  finally 
totally  overthrown. 

When  we  turn  from  the  contemplation  of  the  pyramids,  and  the 
monuments  contemporary  with  them,  to  examine  those  of  the  12th 
dynasty,  we  become  at  once  aware  of  the  change  which  has  taken 
place.  Instead  of  the  pyramids,  all  of  which  are  situated  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Nile,  we  have  obelisks,  which,  without  a  single 
exception,  are  found  on  its  eastern  side,  towards  the  rising  sun, 


1  Lepsius,  "  Denkmaler,"  Abt.  ii.  pis.  115,  116. 


108 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


apparently  in  contradistinction  to  the  valley  of  the  dead,  which  was 
towards  the  side  on  which  he  set.  The  earliest  and  one  of  the  finest 
of  these  obelisks  is  that  still  standing  at  Heliopolis,  inscribed  with 
the  name  of  Osortasen,  one  of  the  first  and  greatest  kings  of  this 
dynasty.  It  is  67  ft.  4  in.  in  height,  without  the  pyramidion  which 
crowns  it,  and  is  a  splendid  block  of  granite,  weighing  217  tons.  It 
must  have  required  immense  skill  to  quarry  it,  to  transport  it  from 
Syene,  and  finally,  after  finishing  it,  to  erect  it  where  it  now  stands 
and  has  stood  for  4500  years. 

We  find  the  sculptures  of  the  same  king  at  Wady  Halfah,  near 
the  second  cataract,  in  Nubia;  and  at  Sarabout  el  Kadem,  in  the 
Sinaitic  Peninsula.  He  also  commenced  the  great  temple  of  Karnac 
at  Thebes,  which  in  the  hands  of  his  successors  became  the  most 
sjilendid  in  Egypt,  and  perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  the  greatest 
architectural  monument  in  the  whole  world. 

As  might  be  expected,  from  our  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  the 
Hyksos  invasion  took  place  so  soon  after  his  reign,  none  of  his  structural 
buildings  now  remain  entire,  in  which  we  might  read  the  story  of  his 
conquests,  and  learn  to  which  gods  of  the  Pantheon  he  especially 
devoted  himself.  We  must  therefore  fall  back  on  Manetho  for  an 
account  of  his  "  conquering  all  Asia  in  the  space  of  nine  years,  and 
Europe  as  far  as  Thrace."^  While  there  is  nothing  to  contradict 
this  statement,  there  is  much  that  renders  it  extremely  probable. 

The  Labyrixth. 

It  is  to  this  dynasty  also  that  we  owe  the  erection  of  the  Laby- 
rinth, one  of  the  most  remarkable,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  myste- 
rious, monuments  of  Egypt.  All  Manetho  tells  us  of  this  is,  that 
Lampares,  or  Moeris,  "built  it  as  a  sepulchre  for  himself;"  and  the 
information  we  derive  from  the  Greeks  on  this  subject  is  so  contra- 
dictory and  so  full  of  the  wonderful,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to 
make  out  either  the  plan  or  the  purpose  of  the  building.  As  long  ago 
as  1843,  the  whole  site  was  excavated  and  thoroughly  explored  by  the 
ofiScers  of  the  Prussian  expedition  under  Lepsius ;  but,  like  most  of 
the  information  obtained  by  that  ill-conditioned  party,  the  results 
have  not  yet  been  given  to  the  world,  except  in  the  most  unsatisfac- 
tory and  fragmentary  form. 

From  such  data  as  have  been  given  to  the  public,  we  learn  that 
the  Labyrinth  was  a  building  measuring  about  1150  feet  east  and  west 
by  850  feet  north  and  south,  surrounding  three  sides  of  a  courtyard, 
about  500  feet  in  one  direction  by  600  in  the  other  (Woodcut  No.  13). 
The  fourth  side  was  occupied  —  unsymnietrically,  however  —  by  a 


1  Syncellus,  p.  69;  Euseb.  Chron.  p.  98. 


i3K.  I.  Ch.  III.  FIRST  THEBAN  KINGDOM.  109 

pyramid  measuring  about  200  feet  square,  or  somewhat  less  than  the 
dimensions  ascribed  to  it  by  the  Greeks.  ^ 

This  pyramid  was  no  doubt  the  tomb  of  the  founder,  and  the  name 


too        ^         ^         ^       soo  "f 


13.   Block  Plan  of  the  Labyrinth.    (From  Lepsius's  ''Deiiknialer.") 


of  Amenemhe,  one  of  the  kings  of  this  dynasty,  has  been  found  on  its 
walls,  showing  that  the  fashion  of  erecting  sepulchral  pyramids  had 
not  then  quite  gone  out,  though  its 
accompaniments  were  of  a  nature 
previously  unknown. 

In  the  Labyrinth  itself  a  num- 
ber of  small  chambers  were  found, 
two  stories  in  height,  as  the  account 
of  Herodotus  leads  us  to  expect,  but 
so  small,  being  only  four  feet  in 
width  at  most,  that  we  cannot 
understand  the  admiration  they 
excited  in  his  mind.  As  there  are  no  hieroglyphics  upon  them,  it  is 
difficult  to  determine  whether  they  belong  to  the  old  Labyrinth,  or 


Chambers  in  Labyrinth. 
Lepsius.) 


(From 


1  Herod,  ii.  148. 


110 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


to  that  which  Herodotus  writes  of  as  erected  by  Psammeticus  and  the 
kings  of  his  day.  As,  however,  the  materials  for  acquiring  a  far  more 
perfect  knowledge  of  this  building  are  said  to  exist  at  Berlin,  it 
is  needless  speculating  on  such  imperfect  data  as  we  now  possess, 
while  there  is  a  hope  that  the  mystery  that  still  shrouds  this  singular 
monument  may  before  long  be  removed. 

Tombs. 

The  most  interesting  series  of  monuments  of  this  dynasty,  which 
have  come  down  to  our  time,  are  the  tombs  of  Beni  Hassan  in  Middle 

Egypt.  Strange  to  say,  they 
are  situated  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Nile,  and  are 
almost  the  only  hypogea 
that  are  so  placed  in  Egy])t.' 
Tlie  character  of  the  sculp- 
tures which  adorn  their 
walls  approaches  that  found 
in  the  tombs  surrounding 
the  pyramids,  but  the  archi- 
tecture differs  widely.  They 
are  all  cheerful-looking  halls, 
open  to  the  light  of  day,  many  of  them  with  pillared  porches, 
and  all  possessing  pretensions  to  architectural  ornament  either  internal 
or  external. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  possesses  a  portico  of  two 
pillars,  in  architecture  so  like  the  order  afterwards  employed  by  the 
Greeks  as  to  be  named  with  propriety  the  proto-Doric  order.  The 
same  class  of  pillar  is  also  used  internally,  supporting  a  plain  archi- 
trave, from  which  spring  two  curvilinear  roofs,  which  we  cannot  help 
suspecting  were  so  formed  in  imitation  of  arches.  All  the  features  of 
this  order  indeed  seem  to  be  borrowed  from  brick  architecture ;  the 
pillar  is  just  wdiat  we  should  expect  in  one  built  up  of  small  materials. 
The  abacus  is  the  tile  or  wooden  capping  which  is  indispensable  in 
that  case  to  distribute  the  superincumbent  weight  over  the  whole 
substance  of  the  pier,  and  if  bricks  were  so  employed  nothing  is  more 
probable  than  that  the  arch  should  also  have  been  introduced.  The 
form  of  the  cornice  also  indicates  a  far  more  ephemeral  and  lighter 


15.  Tomb  at  Beni  Hassan. 


^  Were  they  originally  tombs?  Were 
they  not,  when  first  excavated,  intend- 
ed as  dwelling-places  for  the  living,  to 
be  afterwards  appropriated  as  sepulchres 
for  the  dead  ?  That  such  should  be  the 
case  may  appear  strange  to  death-fear- 
ing races  like  those  that  now  inhabit 


Europe ;  but  among  the  Moguls  of  India 
the  fashion  always  was  for  a  king  to 
build  his  own  sepulchre,  and  use  it  as  a 
pleasure  palace  during  his  life.  It  was 
only  after  his  death  that  it  became  the 
tomb  and  monument  of  its  founder. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  III. 


FIRST  TIIEBAN  KINGDOM. 


Ill 


Style  of  architecture  than  could  have  been  derived  from  stone 
buildings.  , 

There  is  another  form  of  pillar  used  at  Beni  Hassan  at  that  early 
age  which  is  still  further  removed  from  stone  than  even  the  proto- 
Doric.  It  imitates  a  bundle  of  four  reeds  or  lotus-stalks  bound 
together  near  the  top  and  bulging  above  the  ligature  so  as  to  form  a 


capital.  Such  a  pier  must  evidently  have  been  originally  employed 
in  wooden  architecture  only,  and  the  roof  which  it  supports  is  in  this 
instance  of  light  wooden  construction,  having  the  slight  slope  requisite 

in  the  dry  climate  of  Egypt.    In  after  

ages  this  form  of  pillar  became  a  great 
favorite  with  the  Egyptian  archi- 
tects, and  was  employed  in  all  their 
great  monuments,  but  with  a  far  more 
substantial  lithic  form  than  we  find 
here,  and  in  conjunction  with  the 
hollow — or,  as  we  should  call  it,  Co- 
rinthian —  formed  capital,  of  which  no 
example  is  found  earlier  than  the  18th 
dynasty. 

Where  the  square  pier,  so  characteristic  of  the  pyramid-building 
age,  is  used  at  Beni  Hassan,  it  is  adorned  on  its  face  with  a  lotus-flower 
and  stems  (Woodcut  No.  18),  so  as  to  assimilate  it  with  the  more 


Lotus  Pier,  Beni  Hassan.  (From 
Lepsius). 


112 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTUiiE. 


Part  I. 


advanced  free-standing  pillars  of  the  same  order,  and  is  interesting  as 
showing  how  the  suggestion  arose.  It  is  by  no  means  improbable 
that  at  an  earlier  epoch  the  square  prisms  of  the  pyramid  age  were  so 
adorned  in  painting.  In  the  new  kingdom  of  the  12th  dynasty  they 
were  probably  first  so  treated  in  relief.  This  done,  the  suggestion  was 
obvious,  where  wood  could  be  used,  to  cut  away  the  masses,  leaving 
only  the  stems.  This  again  came  to  be  reproduced  in  stone,  which 
after  a  while  lost  all  trace  of  its  wooden  original. 

These  are  meagre  records,  it  must  be  confessed,  of  so  great  a 
kingdom  ;  but  when  we  come  to  consider  the  remoteness  of  the  period, 
and  that  the  dynasty  was  overthrown  by  the  Shepherds,  whose  rule 
was  of  considerable  duration,  it  is  perhaps  in  vain  to  expect  that 
much  can  remain  to  be  disinterred  which  would  enable  us  to  realize 
more  fully  the  architectural  art  of  this  age. 


SHEPHERDS. 

Till  very  recently  our  knowledge  of  the  Shepherd  kings  was  almost 
entirely  derived  from  what  was  said  of  them  by  Manetho,  in  the  extracts 
from  his  writings  so  fortunately  preserved  by  Joseph  us,  in  his  answer 
to  Apion.  Recent  explorations  liave,  however,  raised  a  hope  that  even 
their  monuments  may  be  so  far  recovered  as  to  enable  us  to  realize  to 
some  extent  at  least,  who  they  were  and  what  their  aspirations. 

Manetho  tells  us  they  came  from  the  East,  but  fearing  the  then 
rising  power  of  the  Assyrians,  they  fortified  Avaris  as  a  bulwark  against 
them,  and  used  it  during  their  sojourn  in  Egypt  to  keep  up  their 
communications  with  their  original  seat.  Recent  explorations  have 
enabled  M.  Mariette  to  identify  San,  Zoan,  or  Tanis,  a  well-known 
site  on  the  Bubastite  branch  of  the  Nile,  with  this  Avaris.  And 
already  he  has  disinterred  a  sphinx  and  two  seated  statues  which 
certainly  belong  to  the  reign  of  the  Shepherd  King  Apophis.i 

The  character  of  these  differs  w^idely  from  anything  hitherto  found 
in  Egypt.  They  present  a  physiognomy  strongly  marked  with  an 
Asiatic  type  —  an  arched  nose,  rude  bushy  hair,  and  great  muscular 
development ;  altogether  something  wholly  different  from  everything 
else  found  in  Egypt  either  before  or  afterwards. 

This  is  not  much,  but  it  is  an  earnest  that  more  remains  to  be  dis- 
covered, and  adds  another  to  the  proofs  that  are  daily  accumulating, 
how  implicitly  Manetho  may  be  relied  upon  when  we  only  read  him 
correctly,  and  how  satisfactory  it  is  to  find  that  every  discovery  that 
is  made  confirms  the  conclusions  we  had  hesitatingly  been  adopting. 

It  appears  from  such  fragmentary  evidence  as  has  hitherto  been 


1  "Kevue  Archaeologique,"  vol.  iii.  1861,  p.  97,  and  v.  1862,  p.  297. 


Bk.  1.  Ch.  111. 


i-mST  THEBAN  KINGDOM. 


gleaned  from  the  monuments,  that  the  Shepherds'  invasion  was 
neither  sudden  nor  at  once  completely  successful,  if  indeed  it  ever 
was  so,  for  it  is  certain  that  Theban  and  Xoite  dynasties  co-existed 
with  the  Shepherds  during  the  whole  period  of  their  stay,  either 
from  policy,  like  the  protected  princes  under  our  sway  in  India,  or 
because  their  conquest  was  not  so  complete  as  to  enable  them  to 
suppress  the  national  dynasties  altogether. 

Like  the  Tartars  in  China  they  seem  to  have  governed  the  country 
by  means  of  the  original  inhabitants,  but  for  their  own  purposes; 
tolerating  their  religion  and  institutions,  but  ruling  by  the  superior 
energy  of  their  race  the  peace-loving  semi-Semitic  inhabitants  of  the 
Delta,  till  they  were  in  their  turn  overthrown  and  expelled  by  the 
more  warlike  but  more  purely  African  races  of  the  southern  division  of 
the  Egyptian  valley. 


VOL.  I.— 8 


114 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
PHARAONIC  KINGDOM. 


PFINCIPAL  KINGS  OF  THE 

XVIIlTH  Dynasty.      b,  c.  1830 

Amenophis  I  reigned  25  years. 

Thothmosis  I   "      13  " 

Amenophis  II   *•      20  " 

Amense  (Queen)    ...      "      21  " 

Thothmosis  II   "      12  " 

Thothmosis  IJI,     .    .    .      «'      26  " 

Thothmosis  IV   "      10  " 

Amenophis  111   "      21  " 

Interregnum  of  Sun-worshipping  Kings. 


GREAT  THEBAN  PERIOD. 

Orus  reigned  36  years. 

Rhamses  I   "      12  " 

Manephthah  I.  .    .    .      "      32  " 

Rhamses  II   "      68  " 

Manephthah  II.  .    .    .      "        5  " 

XIXth  Dynasty. 
Sethos  Rhamses ...      *'      55  " 
Rhamessitlje   ....      "      66  " 
Amenophis     ....      "      20  " 

Exode   .   .   .   B.C.  1312 


THE  five  centuries  ^  which  elapsed  between  the  expulsion  of  the 
Shepherds  and  Exode  of  the  Jews  comprise  the  culminating  period 
of  the  greatness  and  greatest  artistic  development  of  the  Egyptians. 
It  is  practically  within  this  period  that  all  the  great  buildings  of  the 
"Hundred  pyloned  city  of  Thebes  "  were  erected.  Memphis  was  adorned 
within  its  limits  with  buildings  as  magnificent  as  those  of  the  southern 
capital,  though  subsequently  less  fortunate  in  escaj)ing  the  hand  of  the 
spoiler ;  and  in  every  city  of  the  Delta  wiierever  an  obelisk  or  sculptured 
stone  is  found,  there  we  find  almost  invariably  the  name  of  one  of 
the  kings  of  the  18th  or  19th  dynasties.  In  Arabia,  too,  and  above 
the  Cataracts  of  the  far-off  Meroe,  everywhere  their  works  and  names 
are  found.  At  Arban,^  on  the  Khabour,  we  find  the  name  of  the  third 
Thothmes ;  and  there  seems  little  doubt  but  that  the  Naharaina  or 
Mesopotamia  was  one  of  the  provinces  conquered  by  them,  and  that  all 
Western  Asia  was  more  or  less  subject  to  their  sway. 

Whoever  the  conquering  Thebans  may  have  been,  their  buildings 
are  sufiicient  to  prove,  as  above  mentioned,  that  they  belong  to  a  race 
differing  in  many  essential  respects  from  that  of  the  Memphite  kingdom 
they  had  superseded. 

The  pyramid  had  disappeared  as  a  form  of  royal  sepulchre,  to  be 
replaced  by  a  long  gloomy  corridor  cut  in  the  rock  ;  its  walls  covered 
with  wild  and  fetish  pictures  of  death  and  judgment :  a  sort  of  magic 
hall,  crowded  with  mysterious  symbols,  the  most  monstrous  and 
complicated  that  any  system  of  human  superstition  has  yet  invented. 


1  518  years:  "  Josephus  contra  Apion."    I.  26 

2  Layard,  "Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  281. 


JiK.  I.  Ch.  IV. 


KINGDOM  OF  THE  PHARAOHS. 


115 


Instead  of  the  precise  orientation  and  careful  masonry  of  the  old 
kingdom,  the  buildings  of  the  new  race  are  placed  anywhere,  facing  in 
any  direction,  and  generally  affected  with  a  symmetriphobia  that  it  is 
difficult  to  understand.  The  pylons  are  seldom  in  the  axis  of  the 
temples ;  the  courts  seldom  square  ;  the  angles  frequently  not  right 
angles,  and  one  court  succeeding  another  without  the  least  reference  to 
symmetry. 

The  masonry,  too,  is  frequently  of  the  rudest  and  clumsiest  sort, 
and  would  long  ago  have  perished  but  for  its  massiveness ;  and  there 
is  in  all  tlieir  works  an  appearance  of  haste  and  want  of  care  that 
sometimes  goes  far  to  mar  the  value  of  their  grandest  conceptions. 

In  their  manners,  too,  there  seems  an  almost  equal  degree  of 
discrepancy.  War  was  the  occupation  of  the  kings,  and  foreign  con- 
quest seems  to  have  been. the  passion  of  the  people.  The  pylons  and 
the  walls  of  the  temples  are  covered  with  battle-scenes,  or  with  the 
enumeration  of  the  conquests  made,  or  the  tribute  brought  by  the 
subjected  races.  While  not  engaged  in  this,  the  monarch's  time  seems 
to  have  been  devoted  to  practising  the  rites  of  the  most  complicated  and 
least  rational  form  of  idolatry  that  has  yet  been  known  to  exist  among 
any  body  of  men  in  the  slightest  degree  civilized. 

If  the  monuments  of  Memphis  had  come  down  to  our  times  as 
perfect  as  those  of  Thebes,  some  of  these  differences  might  be  found 
less  striking.  On  the  other  hand,  others  might  be  still  more  apparent ; 
but  judging  from  such  data  as  we  possess  —  and  they  are  tolerably 
extensive  and  complete — we  are  justified  in  assuming  a  most  marked 
distinction  ;  and  it  is  indispensably  necessary  to  bear  it  in  mind  in 
attempting  to  understand  the  architecture  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile, 
and  equally  important  in  any  attempt  to  trace  the  affinities  of  the 
Egyptian  with  any  other  races  of  mankind.  So  far  as  we  can  now 
see,  it  may  be  possible  to  trace  some  affinities  with  the  pyramid  builders 
in  Assyria  or  in  Western  Asia ;  but  if  any  can  be  dimly  predicated  of 
the  southern  Egyptian  race,  it  is  in  India  and  the  farther  East ;  and 
the  line  of  communication  was  not  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  but  the  Straits 
of  Babelmandeb  and  the  Indian  Ocean. 

THEBES. 

Altliough,  as  already  mentioned,  numerous  buildings  of  the  great 
Pharaonic  dynasties  are  to  be  found  scattered  all  along  the  banks  of 
the  Nile,  it  is  at  Thebes  only  that  the  temples  are  so  complete  as  to 
enable  us  to  study  them  with  advantage,  or  to  arrive  at  a  just  appre- 
ciation of  their  greatness.  That  city  was  practically  the  capital  of 
Egypt  during  the  whole  of  the  18th  and  19th  dynasties  and  has  been 
fortunate  in  having  had  no  great  city  built  near  it  since  it  fell  into 
decay  ;  unlike  Memphis  in  this  respect,  which  has  been  used  as  a 
quarry  during  the  last  14  or  15  centuries.   It  has  also  had  the  advantage 


116 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


w  ^ 

OO  ©o 
oo  ©o 

oo 
oo 


OOI 

ooi 


oo©oO 
iooooo 
oo  ooo 
oooo© 
oooog 
ooooo 


oo©oo 


3  fe 


Goooo 
ooooo 
ooooo 
ooooo 
ooooo 
ooooo 


3Z 


ooooo 


of  a  barrier  of  rocky  hills  on  its  western  limits,  which  has  prevented 
the  sand  of  the  desert  from  burying  its  remains,  as  has  been  the  case 
at  Abydos  and  elsewhere. 

The  ruins  that  still  remain  are  found  scattered  over  an  area 

extending  about  2i  miles 
north  and  south,  and  Si- 
miles east  and  west.  The 
principal  group  is  at  Kar- 
nac  on  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  Nile,  consisting  of  one 
great  temple  1200  feet 
long,  and  five  or  six 
smaller  temples  grouped 
unsym  metrically  around 
it.  About  two  miles  far- 
ther south  is  the  temple  at 
Luxor  820  feet  long,  and 
without  any  dependencies. 

On  the  other  side  of  the 
river  is  the  great  temple 
of  Medinet-Habou,  built 
by  the  first  king  of  the 
19th  dynasty,  520  feet  in 
length ;  the  Rhamession, 
■570  feet  long,  and  the 
temple  at  Gournou,  of 
which  only  the  sanctuary 
and  the  foundations  of  the 
Propyla  now  exist.  Of 
the  great  temple  of  Tlioth- 
mes  and  Amenophis  very 
little  remains  above- 
ground  —  it  liaving  been 
situated  within  the  limits 
of  the  inundation  —  ex- 
cept the  two  celebrated 
colossi,  one  of  which  was 
known  to  the  Greeks  as 
the  vocal  Memnon.  When 
complete  it  probably  was 
next  after  Karnac,  the 
most  extensive  of  Theban 
temples.  There  are  several  others,  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  Libyan 
hills,  which  would  be  considered  as  magnificent  elsewhere,  but  sink 
into  insignificance  when  compared  with  those  just  enumerated. 


CO 

oo 
oo 
oo 
oo 


oo 
oo 
oo 


o  o 
o  o 
o  o 
o  o 
o  o 

o  o 
o  o 
o  oui 


^illllllllllllllllllllll  I  111., 


19.   Khamession  at  Thebes.   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in 


Bk.  I.  Cu.  IV. 


KINGDOM  OF  THE  PIIAKAOIIS. 


117 


Most  of  these,  like  our  mediaeval  cathedrals,  are  the  work  of  suc- 
cessive kings,  who  added  to  the  works  of  their  ancestors  without  much 
reference  to  congruity  of  plan ;  hut  one,  the  Rhamcssion,  was  built 
wholly  by  the  great  Rhamses  in  the  15th  century  b.  c,  and  though 
the  inner  sanctuary  is  so  ruined  that  it  can  hardly  be  restored,  still  the 
general  arrangement,  as  shown  in  the  annexed  woodcut,  is  so  easily 
made  out  that  it  may  be  considered  as  a  typical  example  of  what  an 
Egyptian  temple  of  this  age  was  in- 
tended to  have  been.  Its  fagade  is 
formed  by  two  great  pylons,  or  i)yra- 
midal  masses  of  masonry,  which,  like 
the  two  western  towers  of  a  Gothic 
cathedral,  are  the  appropriate  and 
most  imposing  part  of  the  structure 
externally.  Between  these  is  the 
entrance  doorway,  leading,  as  is  al- 
most invariably  the  case,  into  a  great 
square  courtyard,  with  porticoes  al- 
ways on  two,  and  sometimes  on  three, 
sides.  This  leads  to  an  inner  court, 
smaller,  but  far  more  splendid  than 
the  first.  On  the  two  sides  of  this 
court,  through  whicli  the  central 
passage  leads,  are  square  i)iers  with 
colossi  in  front,  and  on  the  riglit  and 
left  are  double  ranges  of  circular 
columns,  which  are  continued  also 
behind  the  square  piers  fronting  the 
entrance.  Passing  through  this,  we 
come  to  a  hypostyle  hall  of  great 
beauty,  formed  by  two  ranges  of 
larger  columns  in  the  centre,  and 
three  rows  of  smaller  ones  on  each 
side.  These  hypostyle  halls  almost  al- 
ways accompany  the  larger  Egyptian 
temples  of  the  great  age.  They  de- 
rive their  name  from  having,  over 
the  lateral  columns,  what  in  Gothic 
architecture  would  be  called  a  clere- 
story^ through  which  the  light  is  admitted  to  the  central  portion  of 
the  hall.  Although  some  are  more  extensive  than  this,  the  arrange- 
ment of  all  is  nearly  similar.  They  all  possess  two  ranges  of  columns 
in  the  centre,  so  tall  as  to  equal  the  height  of  the  side  columns 
together  with  that  of  the  attic  which  is  placed  on  them.  They  are 
generally  of  different  orders,  the  central  pillars  having  a  bell-shaped 


20.  Central  Pillar,  from  Khamession,  Thebes. 


118 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


capital,  the  under  side  of  which  was  perfectly  illuminated  from  the 
mode  in  which  the  light  was  introduced,  while  in  the  side  pillars  the 
capital  was  narrower  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom,  apparently  for  the 
sake  of  allowing  its  ornaments  to  be  seen. 

Beyond  this  are  always  several  smaller  apartments,  in  this  instance 
supposed  to  be  nine  in  number,  but  they  are  so  ruined  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  be  quite  certain  what  their  arrangement  was.  These  seem  to 
have  been  rather  suited  to  the  residences  of  the  king  or  priests  than 
to  tlie  purposes  of  a  temple,  as  we  understand  the  word.  Indeed, 
Palace-Temple,  or  Temple-Palace,  would  be  a  more  appropriate  term 
for  these  buildings  than  to  call  them  simply  Temples.  They  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  appropriated  to  the  worship  of  any  particular  god, 
but  rather  to  the  great  ceremonials  of  royalty  —  of  kingly  sacrifice  to 
the  gods  for  the  people,  and  of  worship  of  the  king  himself  by  the 
people,  who  seems  to  have  been  regarded,  if  not  as  a  god,  at  least  as 
the  representative  of  the  gods  on  earth. 

Though  the  Rhamession  is  so  grand  from  its  dimensions,  and  so 
beautiful  from  its  design,  it  is  far  surpassed  in  every  respect  by  the 
palace-temple  at  Karnac,  which  is  perhaps  the  noblest  effort  of  archi- 
tectural magnificence  ever  })roduced  by  the  hand  of  man. 

Its  principal  dimensions  are  1200  ft.  in  length,  by  about  360  in 
widtli,  and  it  covers  therefore  about  430,000  square  ft.,  or  nearly  twice 
the  area  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  and  more  than  four  times  that  of  any 
mediaBval  cathedral  existing.  This,  however,  is  not  a  fair  way  of 
estimating  its  dimensions,  for  our  churches  are  buildings  entirely 
under  one  roof ;  but  at  Karnac  a  considerable  portion  of  the  area  was 
uncovered  by  any  buildings,  so  that  no  such  comparison  is  just.  The 
great  hypostyle  hall,  however,  is  internally  340  ft.  by  170,  and,  with 
its  two  pylons,  it  covers  more  than  88,000  square  ft.,  a  greater  area 
than  the  cathedral  of  Cologne,  the  largest  of  all  our  northern  cathedrals ; 
and  when  we  consider  that  this  is  only  a  part  of  a  great  whole,  we 
may  fairly  assert  that  the  entire  structure  is  among  the  largest,  as  it 
undoubtedly  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  buildings  in  the  world. 

The  original  part  of  this  great  group  was,  as  before  mentioned,  the 
sanctuary  or  temple  built  by  Osortasen,  the  great  monarch  of  the  12th 
dynasty,  before  the  Shepherd  invasion.  It  is  the  only  thing  that  seems 
to  have  been  allowed  to  stand  during  the  five  centuries  of  Shepherd 
domination,  though  it  is  by  no  means  clear  that  it  had  not  been  pulled 
down  by  the  Shepherds,  and  reinstated  by  the  first  kings  of  the  18th 
dynasty,  an  operation  easily  performed  with  the  beautiful  polished 
granite  masonry  of  the  sanctuary.  Be  this  as  it  may,  Amenophis,  the 
first  king  of  the  restored  race,  enclosed  this  in  a  temple  about  120  ft. 
square.  Thothmes  I.  built  in  front  of  it  a  splendid  hall,  surrounded 
by  colossi,  backed  by  piers ;  and  Thothmes  III.  erected  behind  it  a 
palace  or  temple,  which  is  one  of  the  most  singular  buildings  in 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  IV. 


KINGDOM  OF  THE  PHARAOHS. 


119 


Egypt.  The  hall  is  140  ft.  long  by  55  in  width  internally,  the  roof  is 
supported  by  two  rows  of  massive  square  columns,  and  two  of  circular 
pillars  of  most  exceptional  form,  the  capitals  of  which  are  reversed, 
and  somewhat  resembling  the  form  usually  found  in  Assyria,  but 
nowhere  else  in  Egypt.  Like  almost  all  Egyptian  halls,  it  was 
lighted  from  the  roof  in  the  manner  shown  in  the  section.  With  all 
these  additions,  the  temple  was  a  complete  whole,  540  ft.  in  length 
by  280  in  width,  at  the  time  when  the  Sun-worshippers  broke  in  upon 
the  regular  succession  of  the  great  18th  dynasty. 


21.   Section  of  Palace  of  Thothmes  III.,  Thebes. 


When  the  original  line  was  resumed,  Manephthah  commenced  the 
building  of  the  great  hall,  which  he  nearly  completed.  Rhamses,  the 
first  king  of  the  19th  dynasty,  built  the  small  temple  in  front ;  and 
the  so-called  Bubastite  kings  of  the  22nd  dynasty  added  the  great 
•  court  in  front,  completing  the  building  to  the  extent  we  now  find  it. 
We  have  thus,  as  in  some  of  our  mediaeval  cathedrals,  in  this  one 
temple,  a  complete  history  of  the  style  during  the  whole  of  its  most 
flourishing  period  ;  and,  either  for  interest  or  for  beauty,  it  forms  such 
a  series  as  no  other  country,  and  no  other  age  can  produce.  Besides 
those  buildings  mentioned  above,  there  are  other  temples  to  the  north, 
to  the  east,  and  more  especially  to  the  south,  and  pylons  connecting 
these,  and  avenues  of  sphinxes  extending  for  miles,  and  enclosing- 
walls,  and  tanks,  and  embankments — making  up  such  a  group  as  no 
city  ever  possessed  before  or  since.  St.  Peter's,  with  its  colonnades, 
and  the  Vatican,  make  up  an  immense  mass,  but  as  insignificant  in 
extent  as  in  style  when  compared  with  this  glory  of  ancient  Thebes 
and  its  surrounding  temples. 

The  culminating  point  and  climax  of  all  this  group  of  building  is 
the  hypostyle  hall  of  Manephthah.  The  plan  and  section  of  its  central 
portion  on  the  next  page,  both  to  the  usual  scale,  will  explain  its  general 
arrangement;  but  no  language  can  convey  an  idea  of  its  beauty,  and 
no  artist  has  yet  been  able  to  reproduce  its  form  so  as  to  convey  to 
those  who  have  not  seen  it  an  idea  of  its  grandeur.  The  mass  of  its 
central  piers,  illumined  by  a  flood  of  light  from  the  clerestory,  and 


120 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


the  smaller  pillars  of  the  wings  gradually  fading  into  obscurity,  are 
so  arranged  and  lighted  as  to  convey  an  idea  of  infinite  space;  at  the 
same  time,  the  beauty  and  massiveness  of  the  forms,  and  the  brilliancy 
of  their  colored  decorations,  all  combine  to  stamp  this  as  the  greatest 


22.   Plan  of  Hypostyle  Hall  at  Karnac.    Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


23.    Section  of  central  portion  of  Hypostyle  Hall  at  Karnac.    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


of  man's  architectural  works ;  but  such  a  one  as  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  reproduce,  except  in  such  a  climate  and  in  that  individual 
style  in  which,  and  for  which,  it  was  created. 

On  the  same  side  of  the  Nile,  and  probably  at  one  time  connected 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  IV. 


KINGDOM  OF  THE  PHARAOHS. 


121 


witli  it  by  an  avenue  of  sphinxes,  stands  the  Temi)le  of  Luxor,  hardly 
inferior  in  some  resi)ects  to  its  great  rival  at  Karnac ;  but  either  it 
was  never  finished,  or,  owing  to  its  proximity  to  the  Nile,  it  has  been 
ruined,  and  the  materials  carried  away.  The  length  is  about  830  ft., 
its  breadth  ranging  from  100  to  200  ft. 
Its  general  arrangement  comprised, 
first,  a  great  court  at  a  different  angle 
from  the  rest,  being  turned  so  as  to 
face  Karnac.  In  front  of  this  stand 
two  colossi  of  Rhamses  the  Great,  its 
founder,  and  two  obelisks  were  once 
also  there,  one  of  which  is  now  in 
Paris.  Behind  this  was  once  a  great 
hypostyle  hall,  but  only  the  two  cen- 
tral ranges  of  columns  are  now  stand- 
ing. Still  further  back  were  smaller 
halls  and  numerous  apartments,  evi- 
dently meant  for  the  king's  residence, 
rather  than  for  a  temple  or  place  ex- 
clusively devoted  to  worship. 

The  palace  at  Luxor  is  further  re- 
markable as  a  striking  instance  of  how 
regardless  the  Egyptians  were  of  I'egu- 
larity  and  symmetry  in  their  plans. 
Not  only  is  there  a  considerable  angle 
in  the  direction  of  the  axis  of  the  build- 
ing, but  the  angles  of  the  courtyards 
are  in  scarcely  any  instance  right 
angles ;  the  pillars  are  variously 
spaced,  and  pains  seems  to  have  been 
gratuitously  taken  to  make  it  as  irreg- 
ular as  possible  in  nearly  every  respect. 
All  the  portion  at  the  southern  end  was 
erected  by  Ameno|)his  III.,  the  north- 
ern part  completed  by  Rhamses  tlie 
Great,  the  same  Avho  built  the  Rhames- 
sion  already  described  as  situated  on 
the  other  bank  of  the  Nile. 

Besides  these  there  stood  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Nile  the  Memno- 

nium,  or  great  temple  of  Amenophis  III.,  now  almost  entirely 
ruined.  It  was  placed  on  the  alluvial  plain,  within  the  limits  of  the 
inundation,  which  has  tended  on  the  one  hand  to  bury  it,  and  on 
the  other  to  facilitate  the  removal  of  its  materials.  Nearly  the  only 
remains  of  it  now  apparent  are  the  two  great  seated  colossi  of  its 


mm 


24. 


Caryatide  Pillar,  from  the  Great 
Court  at  Mediiiet-Habou. 


122 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


founder,  one  of  wliicli,  when  broken,  became  in  Greek,  or  rather 
Roman  times,  the  vocal  Memnon,  whose  plaintive  wail  to  the  rising 
sun,  over  its  own  and  its  country's  desolation,  forms  so  prominent  an 
incident  in  the  Roman  accounts  of  Thebes. i 

Not  far  from  this  stands  the  great  temple  known  as  that  of 
Medinet-Habou,  built  by  the  first  king  of 
the  19th  dynasty.  Its  dimensions  are  only 
slightly  inferior  to  those  of  the  Rhamession, 
being  520  ft.  from  front  to  rear,  and  its  pro- 
pylon  107  ft.  wide.  Its  two  great  courts  are, 
however,  inferior  in  size  to  those  of  that  build- 
ing. The  inner  one  is  adorned  by  a  series  of 
Caryatide figures  (Woodcut  No.  24),which  are 
inferior  both  in  conce})tion  and  execution  to 
those  of  the  previous  reigns ;  and  indeed 
throughout  the  whole  building  there  is  an 
absence  of  style,  and  an  exaggeration  of  de- 
tail, which  shows  only  too  clearly  that  the 
great  age  was  passing  away  when  it 


Avas 

erected.  The  roof  of  its  hyi)ostyle  hall,  and 
of  the  chambers  beyond  it,  is  occupied  by  an 
Arab  village, which  would  require  to  be  cleared 
away  before  it  could  be  excavated ;  much  as 
this  might  be  desired,  the  details  of  its  courts 
would  not  lead  us  to  expect  anything  either 
very  beautiful  or  new  from  its  disinterment. 
Further  down  the  river,  as  already  mentioned, 
stood  another  temple,  that  of  Gournou,  built  by 
the  same  Manephthali  who  erected  the  great 
hall  of  Karnac.  It  is,  however,  only  a  frag- 
ment of  what  may  be  called  the  residential 
part  of  a  temple.  The  hypostyle  hall  never 
was  erected,  and  only  the  foundations  of  two 
successive  pylons  can  be  traced  in  front  of  it. 
In  its  present  condition,  therefore,  it  is  one  of  the  least  interesting  of 

the  temples  of  Thebes,  though 
elsewhere  it  would  no  doubt  be 
regarded  with  wonder. 

Another  building  of  this 
age,  attached  to  the  southern 
side  of  the  great  temple  of 
Karnac,  deserves  especial  at- 
tention as  being  a  perfectly  regular  building,  erected  at  one  time,  and 


25. 


Soutli  Temple  of  Karnac. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


Section  on  A  B  of  above.    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


1  Tacitus,  Ann.  II.  60. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  IV. 


KINGDOM  OF  THE  PHARAOHS. 


123 


according  to  the  original  design,  and  strictly  a  temple,  without  any- 
thing about  it  that  could  justify  the  supposition  of  its  being  a  palace. 

It  was  erected  by  the  first  king  of  the  19th  dynasty,  and  consists 
of  two  pylons,  approached  through  an  avenue  of  sphinxes.  Within 
this  is  an  liyjisethral  court,  and  beyond  that  a  small  hypostyle  hall, 
lighted  from  above  as  shown  in  the  section  (Woodcut  No.  26).  Within 
this  is  the  cell,  surrounded  by  a  passage,  and  with  a  smaller  hall 
beyond,  all  apparently  dark,  or  very  imperfectly  lighted.  The  gate- 
way in  front  of  the  avenue  was  erected  by  the 
Ptolemys,  and,  like  many  Egyptian  buildings, 
is  placed  at  a  different  angle  to  the  direction  of 
the  building  itself.  Besides  its  intrinsic  beauty, 
this  temple  is  interesting  as  being  far  more  like 
the  temples  erected  afterwards  under  the  Greek 
and  Roman  domination,  than  anything  else  be- 
longing to  that  early  age. 

At  Tanis,  or  Soan,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Nile,  the  remains  of  a  temple  and  of  13  obelisks 
can  still  be  traced.  At  Soleb,  on  the  borders  of 
Nubia,  a  temple  now  stands  of  the  Third  Ameno- 
|)his,  scarcely  inferior  in  beauty  or  magnificence 
to  those  of  the  capital. 

At  Sedinga,  not  far  below  the  third  cataract, 
are  the  remains  of  temples  erected  by  Amenophis 
III.,  of  the  18th  dynasty,  which  is  interesting  as 
introducing  in  a  completed  form  a  class  of  pillar 
that  afterwards  became  a  great  favorite  with 
Egyptian  architects  (Woodcut  No.  27).  Before 
this  time  we  find  these  Isis  heads,  either  painted 
or  carved  on  the  face  of  square  piers,  but  so  as 
not  to  interfere  with  the  lines  of  the  pillars. 
Gradually  they  became  more  important,  so  as 
to  form  a  double  capital,  as  in  this  instance.  In 
the  Roman  times,  as  at  Dendera  (Woodcut  No.  39, 
p.  136),  all  the  four  faces  of  the  pier  were  so 
adorned,  though  it  must  be  admitted  in  very  sedinga^*^'" 
questionable  taste. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  attempt  to  enumerate  without  illustrating 
all  the  fragments  that  remain  of  temples  of  this  age.  Some  are  so 
ruined,  that  it  is  diflScult  to  make  out  their  plan.  Others,  like  those 
of  Memphis  or  Tanais,  so  entirely  destroyed,  that  only  their  site,  or  at 
most  only  their  leading  dimensions,  can  be  made  out.  Their  loss  is 
of  course  to  be  regretted  ;  but  those  enumerated  above  are  sufficient  to 
enable  us  to  judge  both  of  the  style  and  the  magnificence  of  the  great 
building  epoch. 


124 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


At  Abydos  the  remains  of  two  great  temples  have  been  partially 
disinterred  from  the  sand  which  has  overwhelmed  them.  In  respect 
of  architectural  magnificence  they  are  inferior  to  those  of  the  capital, 
and  have  not  yet  been  uncovered  to  such  an  extent  as  to  enable  their 
plans  to  be  quite  made  up  ;i  but  they  have  a  special  interest  to  the 
Egyptologer,  as  it  was  on  the  walls  of  one  of  these  that  the  so-called 
tablet  of  Abydos  was  discovered  —  now  in  the  British  Museum  —  which 
first  gave  a  connected  list  of  kings,  the  predecessors  of  Rhamses,  and 
sufiiciently  extensive  to  confirm  the  lists  of  Manetho  in  a  manner 
satisfactory  to  the  ordinary  inquirer.  A  second  list,  far  more  com- 
plete, has  recently  been  brought  to  light  in  the  same  locality,  and 
contains  the  names  of  76  kings,  ancestors  of  Manephthah,  the  father  of 
Rhamses.  It  begins,  as  all  lists  do,  with  Menes ;  but  even  this  list  is 
only  a  selection,  omitting  many  names  found  in  Manetho,  but  in- 
serting others  which  are  not  on  his  lists.^  Before  the  discovery  of 
this  perfect  list,  the  longest  known  were,  that  of  the  chamber  of  the 
ancestors  of  Thothmes  III.,  at  Karnac,  containing,  when  perfect,  61 
names,  of  which  however  nearly  one-third  are  obliterated ;  and  that 
recently  found  at  Saccara,  containing  68  names  originally,  but  of 
which  several  are  now  illegible. 

It  is  the  existence  of  these  lists  which  gives  such  interest  and  such 
reality  to  tlie  study  of  Architecture  in  Egypt.  Fortunately  there  is 
hardly  a  building  in  that  country  which  is  not  adorned  with  the  name 
of  the  king  in  whose  reign  it  was  erected.  In  royal  buildings  they 
are  found  on  every  wall  and  every  pillar.  The  older  cartouches  are 
simple  and  easily  remembered ;  and  when  we  find  the  buildings  thus 
dated  by  the  builders  themselves,  and  their  succession  recorded  by 
subsequent  kings  on  the  walls  of  their  temples,  we  feel  perfectly 
certain  of  our  sequence,  and  nearly  so  of  the  actual  dates  of  the 
buildings;  they  are,  moreover,  such  a  series  as  no  other  country 
in  the  world  can  match  either  for  historic  interest  or  Architectural 
magnificence. 

RocK-cuT  Tombs  and  Temples. 

Both  in  Egypt  Proper  and  in  Nubia  the  Egyptians  were  in  the 
habit  of  excavating  monuments  from  the  living  rock,  but  with  this 
curious  distinction,  that,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  all  the  excava- 
tions in  Egypt  Proper  are  tombs,  and  no  important  example  of  a 
rock-cut  temple  has  yet  been  discovered.  In  Nubia,  on  the  other 
hand,  all  the  excavations  are  temples,  and  no  tombs  of  importance  are 


'  Since  the  first  edition  of  this  work 
was  published,  some  plans  of  these  tem- 
ples have  reached  this  country,  but  in 
too  imperfect  and  too  fragmentary  a 
state  to  be  available  for  our  purpose. 


We  must  wait  the  publication  of  M. 
Mariette's  great  Avork  before  they  can  be 
used  as  illustrations  of  Egyptian  art. 

"Kevue  Archeologique,"  vol.  x., 
1864,  p.  170,  and  vol.  xiii.,  1866,  p.  73. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  IV.  KINGDOM  OF  THE  PHAKAOHS.  125 

to  be  found  anywhere.  This  distmction  may  hereafter  lead  to  im- 
portant historical  deductions,  inasmuch  as  on  the  western  side  of  India 
there  are  an  infinite  number  of  rock-cut  temples,  but  no  tombs  of  any 
sort.  Every  circumstance  seems  to  point  to  the  fact  that,  if  there 
was  any  connection  between  Africa  and  India,  it  was  with  the  prov- 
inces in  the  upper  part  of  the  Valley  of  the  Nile,  and  not  with 
Egypt  Proper.  This,  liowever,  is  a  subject  that  can  hardly  be  entered 
on  here,  though  it  may  be  useful  to  bear  in  mind  the  analogy 
alluded  to. 

Like  all  rock-cut  examples  all  over  the  world,  these  Nubian 
temples  are  copies  of  structural  buildings,  only  more  or  less  modified 
to  suit  the  exigencies  of  their  situation,  whicli  did  not  admit  of  any 
very  great  development  inside,  as  light  and  air  could  only  be  intro- 
duced from  the  one  o]:)ening  of  tlie  doorway. 

The  two  princi])al  examples  of  this  class  of  monuments  are  the  two 
at  Ipsamboul,  the  largest  of  which  is  the  finest  of  its  class  known  to 


28.    Plan  and  Section  of  Rock-cut  Temple  at  Ipsamboul.     Scale  for  plan  100  ft.  to  1  in.; 

section  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


exist  anywhere.  Its  total  depth  from  the  face  of  the  rock  is  150  ft., 
divided  into  2  large  halls  and  3  cells,  with  passages  connecting 
them. 

Externally  the  fa9ade  is  about  100  ft.  in  length,  and  adorned  by  4 
of  the  most  magnificent  colossi  in  Egypt,  each  70  ft.  in  height,  and 
representing  the  king,  Rhanjses  II.,  who  caused  the  excavation  to  be 
made.  It  may  be  because  they  are  more  perfect  than  any  others  now 
found  in  that  country,  but  certainly  nothing  can  exceed  their  calm 
majesty  and  beauty,  or  be  more  entirely  free  from  the  vulgarity  and 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


exaggeration  which  is  generally  a  characteristic  of  colossal  works  of 
this  sort. 

The  smaller  temple  at  the  same  place  has  six  standing  figures  of 
deities  countersunk  in  the  rock,  and  is  carved  with  exceeding  richness. 
It  is  of  the  same  age  with  the  large  temple,  but  will  not  admit  of 
comparison  with  it  owing  to  the  inferiority  of  the  design. 

Besides  these,  there  is  a  very  beautiful  though  small  example  at 
Kalabsche,  likewise  belonging  to  the  age  of  Rhamses  II.,  and  remark- 
able for  the  beauty  of  its  sculptural  bas-reliefs,  as  well  as  for  the  bold 
proto-Doric  columns  which  adorn  its  vestibule.  There  are  also  smaller 
ones  at  Derri  and  Balagne,  at  the  upper  end  of  the  valley.  At 
Essabua,  Girsheli,  and  Dandour,  the  cells  of  the  temple  have  been 
excavated  from  the  i-ock,  but  their  courts  and  propylons  are  structural 
buildings  added  in  front  —  a  combination  never  found  in  Egypt,  and 
very  rare  anywhere  else,  although  meeting  the  difficulties  of  the  case 
better  than  any  otiier  arrangement,  inasmuch  as  the  sanctuary  has 
thus  all  the  imperisliability  and  mystery  of  a  cave,  and  the  temple  at 
the  same  time  has  the  space  and  external  appearance  of  a  building 
standing  in  the  open  air. 

This  last  arrangement  is  found  also  as  a  characteristic  of  the 
temples  of  Gibel  Barkal,  in  the  kingdom  of  Meroe,  showing  how  far 
the  rock-cutting  ])ractice  prevailed  in  the  Upper  Valley  of  the  Nile. 

As  all  these  temples  are  contemporary  Avith  the  great  structures  in 
Egypt,  it  seems  strange  that  the  eternity  of  a  rock-cut  example  did  not 
recommend  this  form  of  temple  to  the  attention  of  the  Egyptians 

themselves.  But  with  the  exception  of  a 
small  grotto,  called  the  Speos  Artemidos, 
near  Beni  Hassan,  and  two  small  caves  at 
Silsilis,  near  the  cataract,  the  Egyptians 
seem  never  to  have  attempted  it,  trusting 
apparently  to  the  solidity  of  their  masonic 
structures  for  that  eternity  of  duration  they 
aspired  to. 

Mammeisi. 

In  addition  to  the  temples  above  de- 
scribed, which  are  all  more  or  less  complex 
in  plan,  and  all  made  up  of  various  inde- 
pendent parts,  there  exists  in  Egypt  a  class 
of  temples  called  mammeisi^  dedicated  to  the 
mysterious  accouchement  of  the  mother  of 
the  gods.  S^all  temples  of  this  form  are 
common  to  all  ages,  and  belong  as  well  to 
the  18th  dynasty  as  to  the  time  of  the  Ptolemys.  One  of  them,  built  by 
Amenophis  III.  at  Elephantine,  is  represented  in  plan  and  elevation 


■■  .  ■  '»  -sa  an  att  ^a.j^ 
29.   Mammeisi  at  Elephantine. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  IV. 


KINGDOM  OF  THE  PHARAOHS. 


127 


in  the  annexed  cut.  It  is  of  a  simple  peristylar  form,  with  columns 
in  front  and  rear,  the  latter  being  now  built  into  a  wall,  and  seven 
square  piers  on  each  flank.  These  temples  are  all  small,  and,  like  the 
Typhonia,  which  somewhat  resemble  them,  were  used  as  detached 
chapels  or  cells,  dependent  on  the  larger  temples.  What  renders  them 
more  than  usually  interesting  to  us  is  the  fact  that  they  were 
undoubtedly  the  originals  of  the  Greek  peristylar  forms,  that  people 
have  borrowed  nearly  every  peculiarity  of  their  architecture  from  the 
banks  of  the  Nile.  We  possess  tangible  evidence  of  peristylar  temples  and 
proto-Doric  pillars  erected  in  Egypt  centuries  before  the  oldest  known 
specimen  in  Greece.  We  need,  therefore,  hardly  hesitate  to  award  the 
palm  of  invention  of  these  things  to  the  Egyptians,  as  we  should 
probably  be  forced  to  do  for  most  of  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the  Greeks 
if  we  had  only  knowledge  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  trace  the  connect- 
ing links  which  once  joined  them  together,  but  which  are  now  in  most 
instances  lost,  or  at  least  difficult  to  find. 

Tombs. 

Of  the  first  10  dynasties  of  Egyptian  kings  little  now  remains  but 
their  tombs  —  the  everlasting  pyramids  —  and  of  the  people  they 
governed,  only  the  structures  and  rock-cut  excavations  which  they 
prepared  for  their  final  resting-places. 

The  Theban  kings  and  their  subjects  erected  no  pyramids,  and 
none  of  their  tombs  are  structural  —  all  are  excavated  from  the  living 
rock ;  and  from  Beni  Hassan  to  the  cataract,  the  plain  of  the  Nile  is 
everywhere  fringed  with  these  singular  monuments,  which,  if  taken 
in  the  aggregate,  perhaps  required  a  greater  amount  of  labor  to 
excavate  and  to  adorn  than  did  even  all  the  edifices  of  the  plain. 
Certain  it  is  that  there  is  far  more  to  be  learnt  of  the  arts,  of  the 
habits,  and  of  the  history  of  Egypt  from  these  tombs  than  from  all 
the  other  monuments.  No  tomb  of  any  Theban  king  has  yet  been 
discovered  anterior  to  the  18th  dynasty  ;  but  all  the  tombs  of  that 
and  of  the  subsequent  dynasty  have  been  found,  or  are  known  to 
exist,  in  the  Valley  of  Biban-el-Melouk,  on  the  western  side  of  the 
plain  of  Thebes. 

It  appears  to  have  been  the  custom  with  these  kings,  so  soon  as 
they  ascended  the  throne,  to  begin  preparing  their  final  resting-place. 
The  excavation  seems  to  have  gone  on  uninterruptedly  year  by  year, 
the  painting  and  adornment  being  finished  as  it  progressed,  till  the 
hand  of  death  ended  the  king's  reign,  and  simultaneously  the  works 
of  his  tomb.  All  was  then  left  unfinished  ;  the  cartoon  of  the  painter 
and  the  rough  work  of  the  mason  and  plasterer  were  suddenly  broken 
off,  as  if  the  hour  of  the  king's  demise  called  them,  too,  irrevocably 
from  their  labors. 


128 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Pakt  I. 


1  Now  in  Sir  John  Soane's  Museum,  in  Lin- 
coln's-Inn-Fields. 


The  tomb  thus  became 
an  index  of  the  length  of 
a  king's  reign  as  well  as  of 
his  magnificence.  Of  those 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Kings 
the  most  splendid  is  that 
opened  by  Belzoni,  and  now 
known  as  that  of  Maneph- 
thah,  the  builder  of  the 
hypostyle  hall  at  Karnac. 
It  descends,  in  a  sloping 
direction,  for  about  350  ft. 
into  the  mountain,  the 
upper  half  of  it  being 
tolerably  regular  in  plan 
and  direction;  but  after 
progressing  as  far  as 
the  unfinished  hall  with 
two  pillars,  the  direction 
changes,  and  the  works 
begin  again  on  a  lower 
level,  probably  because 
they  came  in  contact  with 
some  other  tomb,  or  in 
consequence  of  meeting 
some  flaw  in  the  rock.  It 
now  terminates  in  a  large 
and  splendid  chamber  with 
a  coved  roof,  in  which 
stood,  when  opened  by 
Belzoni,  the  rifled  sarcoph- 
agus ;  ^  but  a  drift-way 
h.^s  been  excavated  beyond 
this,  as  if  it  had  been  in- 
tended to  carry  the  tomb 
still  further  had  the  king 
continued  to  reign. 

The  tomb  of  Rhamses 
Maiamoun,  the  first  king 
oi  the  19th  dynasty,  is 
more  regular,  and  in  some 
respects  as  magnificent  as 
this,  and  that  of  Ameno- 
pliis  III.  is  also  an  excava- 
tion of  great  beauty,  and 
is  adorned  with  jjaintings 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  IV. 


KINGDOM  OF  THE  PHARAOHS. 


129 


of  the  very  best  age.  Like  all  the  tombs,  however,  they  depend  for 
their  magnificence  more  on  the  paintings  that  cover  the  walls  than 
on  anything  wiiich  can  strictly  be  called  architecture,  so  that  they 
hardly  come  properly  within  the  scope  of  the  present  work  ;  the  same 
may  be  said  of  ])rivate  tombs.  Except  those  of  Beni  Hassan,  already 
illustrated  by  Woodcuts  Nos.  15  to  18,  these  tombs  are  all  mere 
chambers  or  corridors,  without  architectural  ornament,  but  their  walls 
are  covered  with  paintings  and  hieroglyphics  of  singular  interest  and 
beauty.  Generally  speaking,  it  is  assumed  that  the  entrances  of  these 
tombs  Avere  meant  to  be  concealed  and  hidden  from  the  knowledge 
of  the  people  after  the  king's  death.  It  is  hardly  conceivable,  how- 
ever, that  so  much  pains  should  have  been  taken,  and  so  much  money 
lavished,  on  what  was  designed  never  again  to  testify  to  the  magnifi- 
cence of  its  founder.  It  is  also  very  unlike  the  sagacity  of  the 
Egyptians  to  attempt  what  was  so  nearly  impossible ;  for  though  the 
entrance  of  a  pyramid  might  be  so  built  up  as  to  be  unrecognizable, 
a  cutting  in  the  rock  can  never  be  repaired  or  disguised,  and  can  only 
be  temporarily  concealed  by  heaping  rubbish  over  it.  Supposing  it 
to  have  been  intended  to  conceal  the  entrances,  such  an  expedient 
was  as  clumsy  and  unlikely  to  have  been  resorted  to  by  so  ingenious 
a  people  as  it  has  proved  futile,  for  all  the  royal  tombs  in  the  valley 
of  Biban-el-Melouk  have  been  opened  and  rifled  in  a  past  age,  and 
their  sites  and  numbers  were  matters  of  public  notoriety  in  the  times 
of  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Many  of  the  private  tombs  have  archi- 
tectural facades,  and  certainly  never  were  meant  to  be  concealed,  so 
that  it  is  not  fair  to  assume  that  hiding  their  tombs'  entrances  was 
ever  a  peculiarity  of  the  Thebans,  though  it  certainly  was  of  the 
earlier  Memphite  kings. 


Obelisks. 

Another  class  of  monuments,  almost  exclusively  Egyptian,  are  the 
obelisks,  which  form  such  striking  objects  in  front  of  almost  all  the 
old  temples  of  tlie  country. 

Small  models  of  obelisks  are  found  in  the  tombs  of  the  age  of  the 
pyramid  builders,  and  represented  in  their  hieroglyphics;  but  the 
oldest  public  monument  of  the  class  known  to  exist  is  that  at  Heliop- 
olis,  erected  by  Osortasen,  the  great  king  of  the  12th  dynasty.  It  is, 
like  all  the  others,  a  single  block  of  beautiful  red  granite  of  Syene, 
cut  with  all  the  precision  of  the  age,  tapering  slightly  towards  the 
summit,  and  of  about  the  average  proportion,  being  about  10  diameters 
in  height ;  exclusive  of  the  top  it  is  67  ft.  4  in. 

The  two  finest  known  to  exist  are,  that  now  in  the  piazza  of  the 
Lateran,  originally  set  up  by  Thothmes  III.,  105  ft.  in  height,  and 
that  still  existing  at  Karnac,  erected  by  Thothmes  I.,  93  ft.  6  in.  in 

VOL.  L  — 9 


130 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


A 


height.  Those  of  Luxor,  erected  by  Rhamses  the  Great,  one  of  which 
is  now  in  Paris,  are  above  77  ft.  in  height ;  and  there  are  two  others 
in  Rome,  each  about  80  ft. 

Rome,  indeed,  has  12  of  these  monuments  within  her  walls  —  a 
greater  number  than  exist,  erect  at  least,  in  the 
country  whence  they  came;  though  judging  from 
the  number  that  are  found  adorning  single  temples, 
it  is  difficult  to  calculate  how  many  must  once  have 
existed  in  Egypt.  Their  use  seems  to  have  been 
wholly  that  of  monumental  pillars,  recording  the 
style  and  title  of  the  king  who  erected  them,  his 
piety,  and  the  proof  he  gave  of  it  in  dedicating 
these  monoliths  to  the  deity  whom  he  especially 
wished  to  honor. 

It  has  been  already  remarked  that,  with  scarcely 
an  exception,  all  the  pyramids  are  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Nile,  all  the  obelisks  on  the  east ;  with  regard 
to  the  former  class  of  monuments,  this  probably  arose 
from  a  law  of  their  existence,  the  western  side  of  the 
Nile  being  in  all  ages  preferred  for  sepulture,  but 

^  l__       with  regard  to  the  latter  it  seems  to  be  accidental. 

—  Memphis  doubtless  possessed  many  monuments  of 

31.  Lateruii  Obelisk.  Scale  .  n      i  •  i  t 

60ft.  to  1  in.,  tor  com-  this  class,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the 
St\'er"LSgs''''''  western  temi)les  of  Thebes  were  also  similarly 
adorned.  They  are,  however,  monuments  easily 
broken ;  and,  from  their  form,  so  singularly  useful  for  many  building 
purposes,  that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if  many  of  them  have  dis- 
appeared during  the  centuries  that  have  elapsed  since  the  greater 
number  of  them  were  erected. 


Domestic  Architectuee. 

Except  one  small  royal  pavilion  at  Medinet  Habou,  no  structure 
now  remains  in  Egypt  that  can  fairly  be  classed  as  a  specimen  of  the 
domestic  architecture  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  ;  but,  at  the  same  time 
we  possess,  in  paintings  and  sculptures,  so  many  illustrations  of  their 
domestic  habits,  so  many  plans,  elevations,  and  views,  and  even  models 
of  their  dwellings  of  every  class,  that  we  have  no  difficulty  in  forming 
a  correct  judgment  not  only  of  the  style,  but  of  the  details  of  their 
domestic  architecture. 

Although  their  houses  exhibited  nothing  of  the  solidity  and  monu- 
mental character  which  distinguished  their  temples  and  palaces,  they 
seem  in  their  own  way  to  have  been  scarcely  less  beautiful.  They 
were  of  course  on  a  smaller  scale,  and  built  of  more  perishable  materials, 
but  they  appear  to  have  been  as  carefully  finished,  and  decorated  with 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  IV. 


KINGDOM  OF  THE  PHARAOHS. 


131 


equal  taste  to  that  displayed  in  the  greater  works.  We  know,  also, 
from  the  tombs  that  remain  to  us,  that,  although  the  government  of 
Egypt  was  a  despotism  of  the  strictest  chiss,  still  the  wealth  of  the 
land  was  pretty  equally  diffused  among  all  classes,  and  that  luxury 
and  splendor  were  by  no  means  confined  either  to  tlie  royal  family 
or  within  the  precincts  of  the  palace.  There  is  thus  every  reason  to 
believe  that  the  cities  which  have  passed  away  were  worthy  of  the 
temples  that  adorned  them,  and  that  the  streets  were  as  splendid  and 
as  tasteful  as  the  public  buildings  themselves,  and  displayed,  though 
in  a  more  ephemeral  form,  the  same  wealth  and  power  which  still 
astonish  us  in  the  great  monuments  that  remain. 

No  building  can  form  a  greater  contrast  with  the  temple  behind  it 
than  does  the  little  pavilion  erected  at  Medinet  Habou  by  Rhamses, 


Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in.  33.    View  of  Pavilion  at  Medinet  Habou. 


the  first  king  of  the  19th  dynasty.  As  will  be  seen  by  the  annexed 
plan  (Woodcut  No.  32),  it  is  singularly  broken  and  varied  in  its  out- 
line, surrounding  a  small  court  in  the  shape  of  a  cross.  It  is  3  stories 
in  height,  and,  properly  speaking,  consists  of  only  3  rooms  on  each 
floor,  connected  together  by  long  winding  passages.  There  is  reason, 
however,  to  believe  that  this  is 
only  a  fragment  of  the  building, 
and  foundations  exist  which  render 
it  probable  that  the  whole  was 
originally  a  square  oi  the  width 
of  the  front,  and  had  other  cham- 
bers, probably  only  in  wood  or 
brick,  besides  those  we  now  find. 
This  would  hardly  detract  from 
the  playful  character  of  the 
design,  and  when  colored,  as  it 

originally    was,     and     with     its  Elevation  of  a  House.    From  an  Egyptian 

J.  flpllltlllg. 

battlements  or  ornaments '  com- 
plete, it  must  have  formed  a  composition  as  pleasing  as  it  is  unlike 
our  usual  conceptions  of  Egyptian  art. 


132 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


The  other  illustration  represents  in  the  Egyptians'  own  quaint 
style  a  three-storied  dwelling,  the  upper  story  apparently  being  like 
those  of  the  Assyrians,  an  open  gallery  supported  by  dwarf  columns. 
The  lower  windovv^s  are  closed  by  shutters.  In  the  centre  is  a  staircase 
leading  to  the  upper  story,  and  on  the  left  hand  an  awning  supported 
on  wooden  pillars,  which  seerns  to  have  been  an  indispensable  part  of 
all  the  better  class  of  dwellings.  Generally  speaking,  these  houses 
are  shown  as  situated  in  gardens  laid  out  in  a  quaint,  formal  style, 
with  pavilions,  and  fishponds,  and  all  the  other  accompaniments  of 
gardens  in  the  East  at  the  present  day. 

In  all  the  conveniences  and  elegances  of  building  they  seem  to 
have  anticipated  all  that  has  been  done  in  those  countries  down  to 
the  present  day.  Indeed,  in  all  probability,  the  ancient  Egyptians 
surpassed  the  modern  in  those  respects  as  much  as  they  did  in  the 
more  important  forms  of  architecture. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  V. 


GREEK  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


133 


CHAPTER  V. 
GREEK  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


CONTENTS. 

Decline  of  art  —  Temples  at  Dendera 


Kalabsche-Philse. 


THE  third  stage  of  Egyptian  art  is  as  exceptional  as  the  two  which 
preceded  it,  and  as  unlike  anything  else  which  has  occurred  in 
any  other  lands. 

From  the  time  of  the 
19th  dynasty,  with  a  slight 
revival  under  the  Bubastite 
kings  of  the  22d  dynasty, 
Egypt  sank  through  a  long 
period  of  decay,  till  her  mis- 
fortunes Avere  consumma- 
ted by  the  invasion  of  the 
Persians  under  Cambyses, 
525  B.  c.  From  that  time  she 
served  in  a  bondage  more 
destructive,  if  not  so  galling 
as  that  of  the  Shepherd 
domination,  till  relieved  by 
the  more  enlightened  pol- 
icy of  the  Ptolemys.  Under 
them  she  enjoyed  as  great 
material  prosperity  as  un- 
der her  own  Pharaohs;  and 
her  architecture  and  her 
arts  too  revived,  not,  it  is 
true,  with  the  greatness  or 
the  purity  of  the  great  na- 
tional era,  but  still  with 
mucli  richness  and  material 
splendor. 

This  was  continued  un- 
der the  Roman  domination, 
and,  judging  from  what  we 
find  in  other  countries,  we 
would  naturally  expect  to  find  traces  of  the  influence  of  Greek  and 


35. 


Plan  of  Temple  at  Edfou,  Apolloiiopolis  Magna. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


134 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  2. 


Roman  art  in  the  buildings  of  this  age.  So  little,  however,  is  this  the 
case,  that  before  the  discovery  of  the  reading  of  the  liieroglyphic  signs, 
the  learned  of  Europe  placed  the  Ptolemaic  and  Roman  temples  of  Den- 
dera.and  Kalabsche  before  those  of  Thebes  in  order  of  date  ;  and  could 
not  detect  a  single  moulding  in  the  architectural  details,  nor  a  single 
feature  in  the  sculpture  and  painting  which  adorned  their  walls,  which 


gave  them  a  hint  of  the  truth.  Even  Cleopatra  the  beautiful  is  repre- 
sented on  these  walls  Avith  distinctly  Egyptian  features,  and  in  the  same 
tight  garments  and  conventional  forms  as  were  used  in  the  portrait  of 
Nophre  Ari,  Queen  of  Rhamses,  or  in  those  of  the  wives  of  the  possessors 
of  tombs  in  the  age  of  the  pyramids,  3000  years  before.  Egypt,  in  fact, 
conquered  her  conquerors,  and  forced  them  to  adopt  her  customs  and 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  V. 


GEEEK  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


135 


her  arts,  and  to  follow  in  the  groove  she  had  so  long  marked  out  for 
herself,  and  followed  with  such  strange  pertinacity. 

Some  of  the  temples  of  this  age  are,  as  far  as  dimensions  and  rich- 
ness of  decorations  are  concerned,  quite  worthy  of  the  great  age, 
though  their  plans  and  arrangements  differ  to  a  considerable  extent. 
There  is  no  longer  any  hesitation  as  to  whether  they  should  be  called 
temples  or  palaces,  for  they  all  are  exclusively  devoted  to  worship, — 
and  to  the  worship  of  a  heavenly  God,  not  of  a  deified  king. 

What  these  arrangements  are  will  be  well  understood  from  the 
annexed  plan  of  that  of  Edfou  (Woodcut  No.  35),  which,  though  not 


37,   Bas-relief  at  Tell  el  Amarna. 


the  largest,  is  the  most  complete  of  those  remaining.  It  is  450  ft.  m 
length  and  155  in  width,  and  covers  upwards  of  70,000  ft. ;  its  dimen- 
sions may  be  said  to  be  equal  to  those  of  the  largest  of  our  medi- 
aeval cathedrals  (Cologne  or  Amiens,  for  instance).  Part  only  of  the 
whole  structure  (that  which  is  shaded  in  the  plan)  is  roofed,  and 
therefore  it  can  scarcely  be  compared  with  buildings  entirely  under 
one  roof. 

In  front  of  the  tem])le  are  two  large  and  splendid  pylons,  with  the 
gateway  in  the  centre,  making  up  a  fa9ade  225  ft.  in  extent.  Although 
this  example  has  lost  its  crowning  cornice,  its  sculptures  and  orna- 
ments are  still  very  perfect,  and  it  may  altogether  be  considered  as  a 
fair  specimen  of  its  class,  although  inferior  in  dimensions  to  many  of 
those  of  the  Pharaonic  age.  Within  these  is  a  court,  140  ft.  by  161, 
surrounded  by  a  colonnade  on  three  sides,  and  rising  by  easy  steps, 
the  whole  width  of  the  court,  to  the  porch  or  poitico  which,  in  Ptole- 
maic temples,  takes  the  place  of  the  great  hypostyle  halls  of  the 
Pharaohs.  It  is  lighted  from  the  front  over  low  screens  placed  be- 
tween each  of  the  pillars,  a  peculiarity  scarcely  ever  found  in  temples 
of  earlier  date,  though  apparently  common  in  domestic  edifices,  or 
those  formed  of  wood,  certainly  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  18th 
dynasty,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  annexed  woodcut  (No.  37),  taken 


13(3 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  I. 


from  a  tomb  of  one  of  the  sim-worsliipping  kings,  who  reigned  between 
Amenophis  III.  and  Horus.     From  this  we  pass  into  an  inner  and 


38,   Fagade  of  Temple  at  Dendera.   Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 

smaller  porch,  and  again  through  two  passages  to  a  dark  and  myste- 
rious sanctuary,  surrounded  by  darker  passages 
and  chambers,  well  calculated  to  mystify  and 
strike  with  awe  any  worshipper  or  neophyte 
who  might  be  admitted  to  their  gloomy  pre- 
cincts. 

The  celebrated  temple  at  Dendera  is  similar 
to  this,  and  slightly  larger,  but  it  has  no  fore- 
court, no  propylons,  and  no  enclosing  outer 
walls.  Its  fayade  is  given  in  the  woodcut  (No. 
38).  Its  Isis-headed  columns  are  not  equal  to 
those  of  Edfou  in  taste  or  grace,  but  it  has  the 
advantage  of  situation,  and  this  temple  is  not 
encumbered  either  by 
sand  or  huts,  which  still 
disfigure  so  many  Egyp- 
tian temples.  Its  effect, 
consequently,  on  travel- 
lers is  always  more 
striking. 

The  Roman  temple 
at  Kalabsche  (Woodcuts 
N"os.  40  and  41),  above 
the  Cataract,  is  a  fair 
specimen  of  these  tem- 
])les  on  a  smaller  scale. 
The  section  (Woodcut 
No.  41)  shows  one  of  the 
modes  by  which  a  scanty 
light  was  introduced  into 
the  inner  cells,  and  their 
gradation  in  height.  The 
position,  too,  of  its  propylons  is  a  striking  instance  of  the  irregularity 


39.   Pillar,  from  the  Portico 
at  Dendera. 


Plan  of  Temple  at 

Kalabsche. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk  I.  Ch.  V. 


GREEK  AND  ROMAN  PERIOD. 


137 


which  distinguishes  all  the  later  Egyptian  styles  from  that  of  the 
rigid,  proportion-loving  pyramid  builders  of  Memphis. 

This  irregularity  of  plan  was  nowhere  carried  to  such  an  extent 
as  in  the  Ptolemaic  temple  on  the  island  of  Philae  (Woodcut  No.  43). 
Here  no  two  buildings,  scarcely  any  two  walls,  are  on  the  same  axis  or 
parallel  to  one  another.  No  Gothic  architect,  in  his  wildest  moments, 
ever  played  so  freely  with  his  lines  or  dimen- 
sions, and  none,  it  must  be  added,  ever  produced 
anything  so  beautifully  picturesque  as  this. 
It  contains  all  the  play  of  light  and  shade,  all 
the  variety  of  Gothic  art,  with  the  massiveness 
and  grandeur  of  the  Egyptian  style ;  and  as 
it  is  still  tolerably  entire,  and  retains  much  of 
its  color,  there  is  no  building  out  of  Thebes 
that  gives  so  favorable  an  impression  of 
Egyptian  art  as  this.  It  is  true  it  is  far  less 
sublime  than  many,  but  hardly  one  can  be 
quoted  as  more  beautiful. 

Notwithstanding  its  irregularity,  this  tem- 
ple has  the  advantage  of  being  nearly  all  of 
the  same  age,  and  erected  according  to  one 
plan,  while  the  greater  buildings  at  Thebes 
are  often  aggregations  of  parts  of  different 
ages ;  and  though  each  is  beautiful  in  itself, 
the  result  is  often  not  quite  so  harmonious  as 
might  be  desired.  In  this  respect  the  Ptol- 
emaic temples  certainly  have  the  advantage, 
inasmuch  as  they  are  all  of  one  age,  and  all 
completed  according  to  the  plan  on  which  they 
were  designed  ;  a  circumstance  which,  to  some 
extent,  at  least,  compensates  for  their  marked 
inferiority  in  size  and  style,  and  the  littleness 
of  all  the  ornaments  and  details,  as  compared 
with  those  of  the  Pharaonic  period.  It  must 
at  the  same  time  be  admitted  that  this  inferi- 
ority is  more  apparent  in  the  sculpture  of  the 
Ptolemaic  age  than  in  its  architecture.  The 
general  design  of  the  buildings  is  frequently 
grand  and  imposing,  but  the  details  are  always 
inferior ;  and  the  sculpture  and  painting,  which  in  the  great  age  add 
so  much  to  the  beauty  of  the  Avhole,  are  in  the  Ptolemaic  age  always 
frittered  away,  ill-arranged,  unmeaning,  and  injurious  to  the  general 
effect,  instead  of  heightening  and  improving  it. 

Strange  as  it  may  at  first  sight  appear,  we  know  less  of  tlie  man- 
ners and  customs  of  the  Egyptian  people  during  the  Greek  and  Roman 


138 


EGYPTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


domination,  than  we  do  of  them  during  the  earlier  dynasties.  All 
the  buildings  erected  after  the  time  of  Alexander  which  have  come 
down  to  our  time,  are  essentially  temples.  Nothing  that  can  be  called 
a  i^alace  or  pavilion  has  survived,  and  no  tombs,  except  some  of 
Roman  date  at  Alexandria,  are  known  to  exist.    We  have  conse- 


Vievv  of  Temple  at  i'hila' 


quently  no  pictures  of  gardens,  with  their  villas  and  fish-ponds ;  no 
farms,  with  their  cattle ;  no  farmyards,  with  their  geese  and  ducks  ; 
no  ploughing  or  sowing ;  no  representations  of  the  mechanical  arts ; 
no  dancing  or  amusements;  no  arms  or  campaigns.  Nothing,  in 
short,  but  worsliip  in  its  most  material  and  least  intellectual  iorm. 

It  is  a  cui-ious  inversion  of  the  usually  received  dogmata  on  this 
subject,  but  as  we  read  the  history  of 
Egypt  as  written  on  her  monuments, 
we  find  her  first  wholly  occupied  with 
the  arts  of  peace,  agricultural  and 
industrious,  avoiding  war  and  priest- 
craft, and  eminently  practical  in  all 
her  undertakings.  In  the  middle  period 
Ave  find  her  half  political,  half  religious ; 
sunk  from  her  early  happy  position  to 
a  state  of  affairs  such  as  existed  in 
Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages.  In  her 
third  and  last  stage  we  find  her  fallen 
under  the  absolute  influence  of  the 
most  degrading  superstition.  We  know 
from  her  masters  that  she  had  no  po- 
litical freedom  and  no  external  influ- 
ence at  this  time ;  but  we  hardly 
expected  to  find  her  sinking  deeper 
and  deeper  into  superstition,  at  a  time 

when  the  world  was  advancing  forward  with  such  rapid  strides  in 
the  march  of  civilization,  as  was  the  case  between  the  ages  of  Alexander 
and  that  of  Constantine.  It  probably  was  in  consequence  of  this  retro- 
grade course  that  her  civilization  perished  so  absolutely  and  entirely, 
under  the  infl.uence  of  the  rising  star  of  Christianity ;  and  that,  long 


43.   Plan  of  Temple  at  Pliilse. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  V. 


GKEEK  AND  llOMiVN  PERIOD. 


139 


before  the  Arab  conquest,  not  a  trace  of  it  was  left  in  any  form.  What 
had  stood  the  vicissitudes  of  3000  years,  and  was  complete  and  stable 
under  Hadrian,  had  vanished  when  Constantine  ascended  the  throne. 

If,  however,  their  civilization  passed  so  suddenly  away,  their  build- 
ings remain  to  the  present  day ;  and  taken  altogether,  we  may  perhaps 
safely  assert  that  the  Egyptians  were  the  most  essentially  a  building 
people  of  all  those  we  are  acquainted  with,  and  the  most  generally 
successful  in  all  they  attempted  in  this  way.  The  Greeks,  it  is  true, 
surpassed  them  in  refinement  and  beauty  of  detail,  and  in  the  class  of 
sculpture  with  which  they  ornamented  their  buildings,  while  the 
Gothic  architects  far  excelled  them  in  constructive  cleverness ;  but 
with  these  exceptions  no  other  styles  can  be  put  in  competition  with 
them.  At  the  same  time,  neither  Grecian  nor  Gothic  architects  under- 
stood more  perfectly  all  the  gradations  of  art,  and  the  exact  character 
that  should  be  given  to  every  form  and  every  detail.  Whether  it  was 
the  plain  flat-sided  pyramid,  the  crowded  and  massive  hypostyle  hall, 
the  playful  pavilion,  or  the  luxurious  dwelling  —  in  all  these  the 
Egyptians  understood  perfectly  both  how  to  make  the  general  design 
express  exactly  what  was  wanted,  and  to  make  every  detail,  and  all 
the  various  materials,  contribute  to  the  general  effect.  They  under- 
stood, also,  better  than  any  other  nation,  how  to  use  sculpture  in  com- 
bination with  architecture,  and  to  make  their  colossi  and  avenues  of 
sp.Jnxes  group  themselves  into  parts  of  one  great  design,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  use  histoi-ical  paintings,  fading  by  insensible  degrees 
into  hieroglyphics  on  the  one  hand,  and  into  sculpture  on  the  other  — 
linking  the  whole  together  with  the  highest  class  of  phonetic  utter- 
ance. With  the  most  brilliant  coloring  they  thus  harmonized  all 
these  arts  into  one  great  whole  unsurpassed  by  anything  the  world 
has  seen  during  the  thirty  centuries  of  struggle  and  aspiration  that 
have  elapsed  since  the  brilliant  days  of  the  great  kingdom  of  the 
Pharaohs. 


140 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECURE. 


Pakt  L 


'  CHAPTER  VI. 
ETHIOPIA. 

CONTENTS. 

Kingdom  of  Meroe  —  Pyramids. 

IT  was  long  a  question  with  the  learned  whether  civilization  ascended 
or  descended  the  Nile  —  whether  it  was  a  fact,  as  the  Greeks  evi- 
dently believed,  that  Meroe  was  the  parent  State  whence  the  Egyptians 
had  migrated  to  the  north,  bringing  with  them  the  religion  and  the  arts 
which  afterwards  flourished  at  Thebes  and  Memphis  —  or  whether 
these  had  been  elaborated  in  the  fertile  plains  of  Egypt,  and  only  in 
later  times  had  extended  to  the  upper  Nile. 

Recent  discoveries  have  rendered  it  nearly  certain  that  the  latter  is 
the  correct  statement  of  the  facts — within  historic  times  at  least — that 
the  fertile  and  easily  cultivated  Delta  was  first  occupied  and  civilized  ; 
then  Thebes  and  afterwards  Meroe.  At  the  same  time  it  is  by  no 
means  improbable  that  the  Ethiopians  were  of  the  same  stock  as  the 
Thebans,  though  differing  essentially  from  the  Memphites,  and  that 
the  former  may  have  regarded  these  remote  kindred  with  respect, 
perhaps  even  with  a  degree  of  half-superstitious  reverence,  due  to 
their  remote  situation  in  the  centre  of  a  thinly-peopled  continent, 
and  have  in  consequence  invented  those  fables  which  the  Greeks 
interpreted  too  literally. 

If  any  such  earlier  civilization  existed  in  these  lands,  its  records 
and  its  monuments  have  perished.  No  building  is  now  found  in  Meroe 
whose  date  extends  beyond  the  time  of  the  great  King  Tirhakah,  of  the 
25th  Egyptian  dynasty,  b.  c.  724  to  680,  unless  it  be  those  bearing  the 
name  of  one  king,  Amoun  Gori,  who  was  connected  with  the  intruding 
race  of  sun-worshippers,  which  broke  in  upon  the  continuous  succession 
of  the  kings  of  the  18th  dynasty.  Their  monuments  were  all  purposely 
destroyed  by  their  successors  ;  and  almost  the  only  records  we  have  of 
them  are  the  grottoes  of  Tell  el  Amarna,  covered  with  their  sculptures, 
which  bear,  it  must  be  confessed,  considerable  resemblance  in  style  to 
those  found  in  Ethiopia.  Even  this  indication  is  too  slight  to  be  of 
much  value ;  and  we  must  wait  for  some  further  confirmation  before 
founding  any  reasoning  upon  it. 

The  principal  monuments  of  Tirhakah  are  two  temples  at  Gibel 
Barkal,  a  singular  isolated  mount  near  the  great  southern  bend  of  the 
river.    One  is  a  large  first-class  temple,  of  purely  Egyptian  form  and 


Bk.  I.  Ch-  VI. 


NUBIA  —  PYRAMIDS. 


141 


design,  about  500  ft.  in  length  by  120  or  140  in  width,  consisting  of 
two  great  courts,  with  their  propylons,  and  with  internal  halls  and 
sanctuaries  arranged  much  like  those  of  the  Rhamession  at  Thebes 
(Woodcut  No.  19),  and  so  nearly,  also,  on  the  same  scale  as  to  make 
it  probable  that  the  one  is  a  copy  of  the  other. 

The  other  temple  placed  near  this,  but  as  usual  unsymmetrically, 
consists  of  an  outer  hall,  internally  about  50  ft.  by  60,  the  roof  of 
which  is  supported  by  four  ranges  of  columns,  all  with  capitals  repre- 
senting figures  of  Typhon  or  busts  of  Isis.  This  leads  to  an  inner 
cell  or  sanctuary,  cut  in  the  rock.i 

There  are  smaller  remains  strewed  about,  indicating  the  existence 
of  a  city  on  the  spot,  but  nothing  of  architectural  importance. 

The  most  remarkable  monuments  of  the  Ethiopian  kingdom  are 
the  pyramids,  of  which  three  great  groups  have  been  discovered  and 


44.   Pyramids  at  ]\Ierue.    (From  Hoskins'  "  Travels  iii  Ethiopia.") 

Fig.  1.  —  Plan  of  the  Principal  Group.   Scale  I  FiG.  2.  —  Section  and  Elevation  of  that  marked 
100  ft.  to  1  in.  I  A.   Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 

described.  The  principal  group  is  at  a  place  called  Dankelah,  the 
assumed  site  of  the  ancient  Meroe,  in  latitude  17°  north.  Another  is  at 
Gibel  Barkal ;  the  third  at  Nourri,  a  few  miles  lower  down  than  the 
last  named,  but  probably  only  another  necropolis  of  the  same  city. 

Compared  with  the  great  Memphite  examples,  these  pyramids  are 
•most  insignificant  in  size  —  the  largest  at  Nourri  being  only  110  ft.  by 
100  ;  at  Gibel  Barkal  the  largest  is  only  88  ft.  square ;  at  Meroe  none 
exceed  60  ft.  each  way.  They  differ  also  in  form  from  those  of  Egypt, 


1  The  information  regarding  these 
temples  is  principally  derived  from  Hos- 
kins' "Travels  in  Ethiopia,"  which  is 


the  best  and  most  accurate  work  yet 
published  on  the  subject. 


142 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


being  much  steeper,  as  their  height  is  generally  equal  to  the  width 
of  the  base.  They  also  all  possess  the  roll-molding  on  their  angles, 
and  all  have  a  little  porch  or  pronaos  attached  to  one  side,  generally 
ornamented  with  sculpture,  and  forming  either  a  chapel,  or  more  pro- 
bably ih  '  place  where  the  coffin  of  the  deceased  was  placed.  We  know 
from  the  Greeks  that,  so  far  from  concealing  the  bodies  of  their  dead, 
the  Ethiopians  had  a  manner  of  preserving  them  in  some  transparent 
substance,  which  rendered  them  permanently  visible  after  death. i 

To  those  familiar  with  the  rigid  orientation  of  tliose  of  Lower 
Egypt?  perhaps  the  most  striking  peculiarity  of  the  pyramids  is  the 
more  than  Theban  irregularity  with  which  they  are  arranged,  no 
two  being  ever  placed,  except  by  accident,  at  the  same  angle  to  the 
meridian,  but  the  Avhole  being  grouped  with  the  most  picturesque 
diversity,  as  chance  appears  to  have  dictated. 

Among  their  constructive  peculiarities  it  may  be  mentioned  that 
they  seem  all  to  liave  been  first  built  in  successive  terraces,  each  less 
in  dimensions  than  that  below  it,  something  like  the  great  pyramid 
at  Saccara  (Woodcut  No.  9),  these  being  afterwards  smoothed  over 
by  the  external  straight-lined  coating. 

Like  the  temples  of  Gibel  Barkal,  all  these  buildings  appear  to 
belong  to  tlie  Tirhakah  epoch  of  the  Ethiopian  kingdom.  It  is  ex- 
tremely improbable  that  any  of  them  are  as  old  as  the  time  of  Solo- 
mon, or  that  any  are  later  tlian  the  age  of  Cambyses,  every  indication 
seeming  to  point  to  a  date  between  these  two  great  epochs  and  to  the 
connection  of  African  history  with  that  of  Asia. 

Tlie  ruins  at  Wady  el-Ooatib,  a  little  further  up  the  Nile  than 
Meroe,  should  perhaps  be  also  mentioned  here,  if  only  from  the 
importance  given  to  them  by  Heeren,  who  thought  he  had  discovered 
in  them  the  ruins  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon.  They  are,  how- 
ever, all  in  the  debased  style  of  the  worst  age  of  Ptolemaic  or  Roman 
art  in  that  country.  They  are  wholly  devoid  of  hieroglyphics  or  any 
indication  of  sanctity  or  importance,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
they  are  the  remains  of  a  caravansera  on  the  great  commercial  route 
between  Egypt  and  Axum,  along  which  the  greater  part  of  the  trade 
of  the  East  arrived  at  Alexandria  in  the  days  of  its  magnificence. 

Although  widely  differing  in  date  from  the  monument  just  de- 
scribed —  except  the  last  —  this  may  be  the  place  to  mention  a  group 
of  the  most  exceptional  monuments  of  the  world  —  the  obelisks  of 
Axum.  It  is  said  they  were  originally  55  in  number,  four  of  them 
equal  to  that  shown  in  the  annexed  woodcut,  which  represents  the 
only  one  now  standing ;  but  there  are  fragments  of  several  of  these 
lying  about,  and  some  of  the  smaller  ones  still  standing,  all  of  the 


1  Herodotus,  iii.  24.    Diodorus,  ii.  15. 


Bk.  LOh.  VI.  NUBIA.  \ 

same  class  and  very  similar  in  design  to  the  large  one.  Its  height, 
according  to  Lord  Valentia,  is  60  ft.,  its  width  at  base  nearly  10,  and 
it  is  of  one  stone.  The  idea  is  evidently  Egyptian,  but  the  details  are 
Indian.  It  is  in  fact  an  Indian  nine-storied  pagoda,  translated  in 
Egyptian  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era! 

The  temple  most  like  it  in  India  is  probably  that  at  Budh  Gya. 
That,  in  its  present  form,  is  undoubtedly  more  modern,  but  probably 
retains  many  of  its  original  features.  1 1  also  resembles  the  tower  at 
Chittore,!  but  towers  are  from  their  form  such  frail  structures,  that 


io.    Obelisks  at  Axum.    (From  Lord  Valentia's  *'  Travels.") 


certainly  nine-tenths  of  those  that  once  existed  have  perished;  and 
it  is  only  because  they  are  so  frequent  still  in  China  and  other 
Buddhist  countries  that  we  are  sure  that  the  accounts  are  true 
which  represent  them  as  once  as  frequent  as  in  tlie  country  of  their 
birth.  Be  this  as  it  may,  this  exceptional  monolith  exactly  repre- 
sents tliat  curious  marriage  of  Indian  with  Egyptian  art  which  we 
would  expect  to  find  in  the  spot  where  the  two  people  came  in  con- 
tact, and  enlisted  architecture  to  symbolize  their  commercial  union. 


Woodcuts  982  and  1091  in  the  first  edition  of  this  History. 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHriECTUflE. 


Part  I. 


BOOK  11. 

CHAPTER  I. 
ASSYRIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

IT  is  by  no  means  impossible  that  the  rich  alluvial  plain  of  Shinar 
may  have  been  inhabited  by  man  as  early  as  the  Valley  of  the 
Nile ;  but  if  this  were  so,  it  is  certain  that  the  early  dwellers  in  the 
land  have  left  no  trace  of  their  sojourn  which  has  yet  rewarded  the 
research  of  modern  investigators.  So  far,  indeed,  as  our  knowledge  at 
present  extends,  we  have  proof  of  the  existence  of  the  primitive  races 
of  mankind  in  the  valleys  of  France  and  England  at  a  far  earlier 
period  than  we  trace  their  remains  on  the  banks  of  either  the 
Euphrates  or  the  Nile.  It  is  true  these  European  vestiges  of  pre- 
historic man  are  not  architectural,  and  have  consequently  no  place 
here,  except  in  so  far  as  they  free  us  from  the  trammels  of  a  chro- 
nology now  admitted  to  be  too  limited  in  duration,  but  which  has 
hitherto  prevented  us  from  grasping,  as  we  might  have  done,  the 
significance  of  architectural  history  in  its  earliest  dawn. 

Unfortunately  for  our  investigation  of  Chaldean  antiquity,  the 
works  of  Berosus,  the  only  native  historian  we  know  of,  have  come 
down  to  us  in  even  a  more  fragmentary  state  than  the  lists  of 
Manetho,  and  the  monuments  have  not  yet  enabled  us  to  supply 
those  deficiencies  so  completely,  though  there  is  every  prospect  of 
their  eventually  doing  so  to  a  considerable  extent.  In  the  mean- 
while the  most  successful  attempt  to  restore  the  text  which  has 
been  made,  is  that  of  Herr  Gutschmid,i  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
dates  he  assigns  are  very  near  the  truth.  Rejecting  the  1st  dynasty 
of  86  Chaldeans  and  their  34,080  years  as  mythical,  or  as  merely 
expressing  the  belief  of  the  historian  that  the  country  was  inhabited 


*  Published  in  the    Rheinischer  Museum,"  vol.  viii.  p.  252,  et  seq. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


145 


by  a  Chaldean  race  for  a  long  time  before  the  Median  invasion,  he 
places  that  event  2458  b.  c.    His  table  of  dynasties  then  runs  thus:  — 


Years. 

II.  . 

.    8  Medes    .    .  . 

.    .  224  . 

III.  . 

.  11  Chaldeans  .  . 

.    .  258  . 

lY.  . 

.49 

.    .  458  . 

V.  . 

.    9  Arabians    .  . 

.    .  245  . 

VI.  . 

.  45  Assyrians    .  . 
.  8 

.    .  526  . 

VII.  . 

.    .  122  . 

VIII.  . 

.    6  Chaldeans  .  . 

.    .    87  . 

Persian  conquest 


commencing 


B.  c. 

.  2458 
.  2234 
.  1976 
.  1518 
.  1273 
.  747 
.  625 
.  538 


As  every  advance  that  has  been  made,  either  in  deciphering  the 
inscriptions  or  in  exploring  the  ruins  since  this  reading  was  proposed, 
has  tended  to  confirm  its  correctness,  it  may  fairly  be  assumed  to 
represent  very  nearly  the  true  chronology  of  the  country  from  Nim- 
rod  to  Cyrus.  Assuming  this  to  be  so,  it  is  interesting  to  observe 
that  the  conquest  of  Babylonia  by  the  Medes  only  slightly  preceded 
the  invasion  of  Egypt  by  the  Hyksos,  and  that  the  fortification  of 
Avaris  "against  the  Assyrians"^  was  synchronous  with  the  rise  of  the 
great  Chaldean  dynasty,  most  probably  under  Nimrod,  b.  c.  2234.  If 
this  is  so,  the  whole  of  the  old  civilization  of  Egypt  under  tlie  pyra- 
mid-building kings  had  passed  away  before  the  dawn  of  history  in 
Babylonia.  The  Theban  kings  of  tlie  12th  dynasty  had  spread  their 
conquests  into  Asia,  and  thus  it  seems  brought  back  the  reaction  of 
the  Scythic  invasion  on  their  own  hitherto  inviolate  land,  and  by 
these  great  interminglings  of  the  nations  Asia  was  first  raised  to  a 
sense  of  lier  greatness. 

What  we  learn  from  this  table  seems  to  be  that  a  foreign  invasion 
of  Medes  —  whoever  they  may  have  been  —  disturbed  the  hitherto 
peaceful  tenor  of  the  Chaldean  kingdom  some  twenty-five  centuries 
before  the  Christian  era. 

They,  in  their  turn,  were  driven  out  to  make  place  for  the  Chal- 
dean dynasties,  whicli  we  have  every  reason  to  suppose  were  those 
founded  by  Nimrod  about  the  year  2235  b.  c. 

This  kingdom  seems  to  have  lasted  about  seven  centuries  without 
any  noticeable  interruption,  and  then  to  have  been  overthrown  by  an 
invasion  from  the  west  about  the  year  1518  b.  c.  Can  this  mean  the 
Egyptian  conquest  under  the  kings  of  the  great  18th  dynasty? 

The  depression  of  the  Chaldeans  enabled  the  Assyrians  to  raise 
their  heads  and  found  the  great  kingdom  afterwards  known  as  that 
of  >jineveh,  about  the  year  1273.  For  six  centuries  and  a  half  they 
were  the  great  people  of  Asia,  and  during  the  latter  half  of  that 
period  built  all  those  palaces  which  have  so  recently  been  dis- 
interred. 


1  "  Josephus  contra  Apion,"  i.  14. 
VOL.  I. —  10 


146 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


Part  I. 


They  were  struck  clown  in  their  turn  by  the  kings  of  Babylonia, 
who  established  the  second  Chaldean  kingdom  about  the  year  625, 
but  only  to  give  place  to  the  Persians  under  Cyrus  in  the  year  538, 
after  little  more  than  a  century  of  duration. 

As  in  the  Valley  of  the  Nile,  the  first  kingdom  was  established 
near  the  mouths  of  the  Euphrates,  and  flourished  there  for  centuries 
before  it  was  superseded  by  the  kingdom  of  Nineveh,  in  the  same 
manner  as  Thebes  had  succeeded  to  the  earlier  seat  of  power  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Memphis. 

Owing  to  the  fortunate  employment  of  sculptured  alabaster  slabs 
to  line  the  walls  of  the  palaces  during  the  great  period  of  Assyrian 
prosperity,  we  are  enabled  to  restore  the  plan  of  the  royal  palaces  of 
that  period  with  perfect  certainty,  and  in  consequence  of  the  still  more 
fortunate  introduction  of  stone  masonry  during  the  Persian  period  — 
after  they  had  come  into  contact  with  the  Greeks  —  we  can  understand 
the  construction  of  these  buildings,  and  restore  the  form  of  many  parts 
which,  being  origmally  of  wood,  have  perished.,  The  Phiins  of  Shinar 
possessed  no  natural  building  material  of  a  durable  nature,  and  even 
wood  or  fuel  of  any  kind  seems  to  have  been  so  scarce  that  the 
arcliitects  were  content  too  frequently  to  resort  to  the  use  of  bricks 
only  dried  in  the  sun.  The  consequence  is  that  the  buildings  of  the 
early  Chaldeans  are  now  generally  shapeless  masses,  the  plans  of 
which  it  is  often  extremely  difficult  to  follow,  and  in  no  instance 
has  any  edifice  been  discovered  so  complete  that  we  can  feel  quite 
sure  we  really  know  all  about  it.  Fortunately,  however,  the  temples 
at  Wurka  and  Mugheyr  become  intelligible  by  comparison  with  the 
Birs  Nimroud  and  the  so-called  tomb  of  Cyrus,  and  the  palaces  of 
Nineveh  and  Khorsabad  from  the  corresponding  ones  at  Susa  and 
Persepolis.  Consequently,  if  we  attempt  to  study  the  architecture  of 
Chaldea,  of  Assyria,  or  of  Persia,  as  separate  styles,  we  find  them  so 
fragmentary,  owing  to  the  imperfection  of  the  materials  in  which 
they  were  carried  out,  that  it  is  difiicult  to  understand  their  forms. 
But  taken  as  the  successive  developments  of  cne  great  style,  the 
whole  becomes  easily  intelligible ;  and  had  the  southern  excavations 
I)een  conducted  with  a  little  more  care,  there  is  perhaps  no  feature 
that  would  not  have  been  capable  of  satisfactory  explanation.  Even 
as  it  is,  however,  the  explorations  of  the  last  fifteen  years  have 
enabled  us  to  take  a  very  comprehensive  view  of  what  the  archi- 
tecture of  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  was  during  the  2000  years  it 
remained  a  great  independent  monarchy.  It  is  a  chapter  in  the 
history  of  the  art  which  is  entirely  new  to  us,  and  which  may  lead 
to  the  most  im])ortant  results  in  clearing  our  ideas  as  to  the  origin 
of  styles.  Unfortunately,  it  is  only  in  a  scientific  sense  that  this  is 
true.  Except  the  buildings  at  Persepolis,  everything  is  buried  or 
heaped  together  in  such  confusion  that  the  passing  traveller  sees 


JJK.  11.  CH.  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


147 


nothing.  It  is  only  by  study  and  comparison  that  the  mind  eventually 
realizes  the  greatness  and  the  beauty  of  the  most  gorgeous  of  Eastern 
monarchies,  or  that  any  one  can  be  made  to  feel  that  he  actually  sees 
the  sculptures  which  a  Sardanapalus  set  up,  or  the  tablets  which  a 
Nebuchadnezzar  caused  to  be  engraved. 

Owing  to  the  fragmentary  nature  of  the  materials,  it  must  perhaps 
be  admitted  that  the  study  of  the  ancient  architecture  of  Central  Asia 
is  more  difficult  and  less  attractive  than  that  of  other  countries  and 
more  familiar  forms.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  an  immense  triumph 
to  the  philosophical  student  of  art  to  have  penetrated  so  far  back 
towards  the  root  of  Asiatic  civilization.  It  is  besides  as  great  a  gain 
to  the  student  of  history  to  have  come  actually  into  contact  with  the 
works  of  kings  whose  names  have  been  familiar  to  him  as  household 
words,  but  of  whose  existence  he  had  until  lately  no  tangible  proof. 

In  addition  to  this  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Assyrian  explora- 
tion commenced  in  1843  by  M.  Botta,  at  Khorsabad,  and  brought 
to  a  temporary  close  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1855,  have 
added  an  entirely  new  chapter  to  our  history  of  architecture ;  and 
with  the  exception  of  that  of  Egypt,  probably  the  most  ancient  we 
can  ever  now  hope  to  obtain.  It  does  not,  it  is  true,  rival  that  of 
Egypt  in  antiquity,  as  the  Pyramids  still  maintain  a  preemineiTce 
of  1000  years  beyond  anything  that  has  yet  been  discovered  in  the 
valley  of  the  Euphrates,  and  we  now  know,  approximately  at  least, 
what  we  may  expect  to  find  on  the  banks  of  tliat  celebrated  river. 
There  is  nothing  certainly  in  India  that  nearly  approaches  these 
monuments  in  antiquity,  nor  in  China  or  the  rest  of  Asia;  and  in 
Euroj)e,  whatever  may  be  maintained  regarding  primaeval  man,  we 
can  hardly  expect  to  find  any  building  of  a  date  prior  to  the  Trojan 
war.  All  our  histories  must  therefore  begin  with  Egypt  and  Assyria 
—  beyond  them  all  is  sj^eculation,  and  new  fields  of  discovery  can 
hardly  be  hoped  for. 

The  Assyrian  discoveries  are  also  most  important  in  supplying 
data  whicli  enable  us  to  understand  what  follows,  especially  in  the 
architectural  history  of  Greece.  No  one  now  probably  doubts  that 
the  Dorian  Greeks  borrowed  the  idea  of  their  Doric  order  from  the 
pillars  of  Beni  Hassan  (Woodcuts  Nos.  16  and  17)  or  Nubia — or  rather 
perhaps  from  the  rubble  or  brick  piers  of  Memphis  or  Naucratis,i  from 
which  these  rock-cut  examples  were  themselves  imitated.  But  the 
origin  of  the  Ionic  element  was  always  a  mystery.  We  know,  indeed, 
that  the  Greeks  practised  it  principally  in  Asia  Minor  —  hence  its 
name;  but  we  never  knew  how  essentially  Asiatic  it  was  till  the 
architecture  of  Nineveh  was  revealed  to  us,  and  till,  by  studying  it 
through  the  medium  of  the  buildings  at  Persepolis,  we  were  made  to 


If  the  Greeks  traded  to  Naucratis  as  early  as  the  1st  Olympiad. 


148 


BABYLONIA  AND  ASSYRIA. 


Pakt  I. 


feel  how  completely  the  Ionic  order  was  a  Grecian  refinement  on  the 
wooden  and  somewhat  Barbaric  orders  of  the  Euphrates  valley. 

It  is  equally,  or  perhaps  almost  more,  important  to  know  that  in 
Chaldea  we  are  able  to  trace  the  origin  of  those  Buddhist  styles  of 
art  which  afterwards  pervaded  the  whole  of  Eastern  Asia,  and  it 
may  be  also  the  germs  of  the  architecture  of  Southern  India.^  These 
affinities,  however,  have  not  yet  been  worked  out,  hardly  even  hinted 
at ;  but  they  certainly  will  one  day  become  most  nnportant  in  tracing 
the  origin  of  the  religious  development  of  the  further  East. 

In  these  researches  neither  the  literature  nor  the  language  of  the 
country  avail  us  much.  If  the  affinities  are  ever  traced,  it  will  be 
through  the  architecture,  and  that  alone ;  but  there  is  every  prospect 
of  its  proving  sufficient  for  the  purpose  when  properly  explored. 

It  will  hardly  be  necessary  even  to  allude  to  the  decipherment  of 
the  mysterious  written  characters  of  the  Chaldeans.  There  is  pro- 
bably no  one  now  living,  who  has  followed  up  the  course  of  the 
inquiry  with  anything  like  a  proper  degree  of  study,  who  has  any 
doubt  regarding  the  general  correctness  of  the  interpretation  of  the 
arrow-headed  inscriptions.  Singularly  enough,  the  great  difficulty  is 
Avith  regard  to  proper  names,  which  as  a  rule  were  not  spelt  pho- 
nc*tically,  but  were  made  up  of  symbols.  This  is  provoking,  as  these 
names  afford  the  readiest  means  of  comparing  the  monuments  with  our 
histories ;  and  the  uncertainty  as  to  their  pronunciation  has  induced 
many  to  fancy  that  the  foundation  of  the  whole  system  is  unstable. 
But  all  this  is  becoming  daily  less  and  less  important  as  the  history 
itself  is  being  made  out  from  the  monuments  themselves.  It  may 
also  be  true  that,  when  it  is  attempted  to  translate  literally  meta- 
physical or  astrological  treatises,  there  may  still  be  differences  of 
opinion  as  to  the  true  meaning  of  a  given  passage ;  but  plain  his- 
torical narratives  can  be  read  with  nearly  as  much  certainty  as  a 
chapter  of  Herodotus  or  of  Plutarch ;  and  every  day  is  adding  to 
the  facility  with  which  they  can  be  deciphered,  and  to  the  stock  of 
materials  and  facts  with  which  the  readings  may  be  checked  or 
rectified. 

From  the  materials  already  collected,  combined  with  the  chro- 
nology above  sketched  out,  we  are  enabled  to  divide  the  architectural 
history  of  the  Middle  Asiatic  countries,  during  the  period  of  their 
ancient  greatness,  into  three  distinct  and  well-defined  epochs. 

1st.  The  ancient  Babylonian  or  Chaldean  period,  ranging  from 


1  When  the  "  Handbook  of  Architec- 
ture" was  published  in  1855,  there  ex- 
isted no  data  from  which  these  affinities 
could  be  traced.   It  is  to  the  explorations 


of  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  and  Messrs. 
Taylor  and  Loftus  that  we  owe  what  we 
now  know  on  the  subject;  but  even  that 
is  only  an  instalment. 


Bk.  11.  Ch.  1. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


149 


B.  c.  2234  to  1520,  comprising  the  ruins  at  Wurka,  Mugheyr,  Abu 
Shahrein,  Niffer,  Kaleh  Sherghat,  etc.  Temples,  tombs,  and  private 
dwellings,  all  typical  of  a  Turanian  or  Scythic  race. 

2nd.  The  Assyrian  and  second  Chaldean  kingdoms,  founded  about 
1290  B.  c,  and  extending  down  to  the  destruction  of  Babylon  by 
Cyrus,  538  b.  c,  comprising  all  the  buildings  of  Nimroud,  Koyunjik, 
Khorsabad,  and  those  of  the  second  Babylon.  An  architecture  essen- 
tially palatial,  without  tombs,  and  few  temples,  betokening  the 
existence  of  a  Semitic  race. 

3rd.  The  Persian,  commencing  Avith  Cyrus,  538  b.  c,  and  ending 
with  Alexander,  b.  c.  333,  comprising  Passargadae,  Susa,  and  Perse- 
polis.  An  architecture  copied  from  the  preceding:  palatial,  with 
rock  tombs  and  small  temples.  Aryan  it  may  be,  but  of  so  strangely 
mixed  a  character  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  distinguish  it  from 
its  sister  styles.  Either  it  seems  to  be  that  Cyrus  and  his  descendants 
were  of  Turanian  blood,  governing  an  Aryan  people,  or  that  they 
were  Aryan,  but  that  there  was  so  strong  an  infusion  of  Turanians 
among  their  subjects  that  they  were  forced  to  follow  their  fashions. 
Perhaps  a  little  of  both  ;  but  taking  the  evidence  as  it  now  stands,  it 
seems  as  if  the  first  hypothesis  is  that  nearest  the  truth.  These  rock- 
cut  tombs,  and  the  splendor  of  their  sepulchral  arrangements  generally, 
savor  strongly  of  Scythic  blood ;  and  their  gorgeous  palaces,  their 
love  of  art,  the  splendor  of  their  state  and  ceremonial,  all  point  to 
feelings  far  more  prevalent  among  the  Turanians  than  to  anything 
ever  found  among  kings  or  ])eople  of  the  Aryan  race. 

None  of  these  styles,  however,  are  perfectly  pure,  or  distinct  one 
from  the  other.  Tlie  three  races  always  inhabited  the  country  as 
they  do  now.  And  as  at  this  hour  the  Turkish  governor  issues  his 
edicts  in  Turkish,  Arabic,  and  Persian,  so  did  Darius  write  the 
history  of  his  reign  on  the  rocks  at  Behistun  in  Persian,  Assyrian, 
and  the  old  Scythic  or  Median  tongue.  The  same  three  races  occupied 
the  country  then  as  they  do  now.  But  each  race  was  supreme  in  the 
order  just  given,  and  the  style  of  each  predominated  during  the  period 
of  their  sway,  though  impregnated  with  the  feelings  and  peculiarities 
of  the  other  two.  It  is  this,  indeed,  which  gives  the  architecture  of 
the  country  in  that  age  its  peculiar  value  to  the  archaeologist.  The 
three  great  styles  of  the  world  are  here  i)laced  in  such  close  juxta- 
position, that  they  can  l)e  considered  as  a  whole,  illustrating  and 
supplementing  each  other,  but  still  sufficiently  distinct  never  to  lose 
their  most  marked  characteristics.  The  materials  are  still,  it  must  be 
confessed,  somewhat  scanty  to  make  all  this  clear;  but  every  day  is 
adding  to  them,  and,  even  now,  no  one  familiar  with  architectural 
analysis  can  be  mistaken  in  recognizing  the  leading  features  of  the 
investigation. 


150 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


CHAPTER  II. 
CHALDEAN  TEMPLES. 


CHRONOLOGY. 


DATES. 

Nimrod   .    ,    .  n.  c.  2234  ? 

Urukh.   Bowariyeh,  Wurka    ....  2093 

Ilgi   2070 

Chedorlaomer  197G 

Ismi  Dagon  1850 


ShamasVul.  Kaleh  Sherghat . 
Sin  Shada.    Wuswus?.   .   .  . 

Sur  Sin  

Purna  Puryas  

Arab  conquerors  


DATES. 
B.  c.  1800 
.  .  1700 
.  .  1660 
.  .  1600 
.    .  1500?! 


ALREADY  the  names  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  kings  belonging  to  these 
old  dynasties  have  been  recovered,  and  the  remains  of  some  ten 
or  twelve  temples  have  been  identified  as  founded  by  them ;  but 
unfortunately  none  of  these  are  in  a  sufficiently  perfect  state  to 
afford  any  certainty  as  to  their  being  entirely  of  this  age,  and  all  are 
in  such  a  state  of  ruin  that,  making  use  of  all  the  information 
we  possess,  we  cannot  yet  properly  restore  a  temple  of  the  old  Chal- 
dean epoch. 

Notwithstanding  this,  it  is  a  great  gain  to  the  history  of  archi- 
tecture to  have  obtained  so  much  knowledge  as  we  have  of  temples, 
which  were  only  known  to  us  before  from  the  vague  descriptions  of 
the  Greeks,  and  which  are  the  earliest  forms  of  a  type  of  temples 
found  afterwards  continually  cropping  up  in  the  East. 

It  would  be  contrary  to  all  experience  to  suppose  that  a  people  of 
Turanian  origin  should  be  without  temples  of  some  sort,  but,  except 
the  description  by  the  Greeks  of  the  temple  or  tomb  of  Belus,  we  have 
nothing  to  guide  us.  We  have  now  a  fair  idea  of  what  the  general  out- 
line of  their  temples  was,  and  even  if  we  cannot  trace  their  origin,  we 
can  at  least  follow  their  descendants.  There  seems  now  no  doubt  but 
that  many,  perhaps  most,  of  the  Buddhist  forms  of  architecture  in 
India  and  further  eastward,  were  derived  from  the  banks  of  the 
Euphrates.  Many  of  the  links  are  still  wanting;  but  it  is  something 
to  know  that  the  Birs  Nimroud  is  the  type  which  two  thousand  years 
afterwards  was  copied  at  Pagahn  in  Burmah,  and  Boro  Buddor  in 


•  The  chronology  here  given  is  based 
on  the  various  papers  communicated  by 
Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  to  the  "Journal 
of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,"  vol.  x.  et 
seq.,  and  to  the    Athenaeum"  journal. 


The  whole  has  been  abstracted  and  con- 
densed in  his  brother's  "Five  Great 
Monarchies  of  the  Ancient  World"; 
from  which  work  the  tables  here  given 
are  taken  in  an  abridged  form. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  II. 


CHALDEAN  TEMPLES. 


151 


Java ;  and  that  the  descent  from  these  can  easily  be  traced  in  those 
countries  and  in  China  to  the  present  day. 

The  principal  reason  why  it  is  so  difficult  to  form  a  distinct  idea 
of  this  old  form  of  temple  is,  that  the  material  most  employed  in  their 
construction  was  either  crude,  sun-dried,  or  very  imperfectly-burnt 
bricks ;  or,  when  a  better  class  of  bricks  was  employed,  as  was  pro- 
bably the  case  in  Babylon,  they  have  been  quarried  and  used  in  the 
construction  of  succeeding  capitals.  A  good  deal  also  is  owing  to  the 
circumstance  that  those  who  have  explored  them  have  in  many  cases 
not  been  architects,  or  were  persons  not  accustomed  to  architectural 
researches,  and  who  consequently  have  failed  to  seize  the  peculiarities 
of  the  building  they  were  exploring. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  fortunate  that  the  Persians  did 
for  these  temples  exactly  what  they  accomplished  for  the  palace  forms 
of  Assyria.  They  repeated  in  stone  in  Persia  what  had  been  built  in 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  with  wood,  or  w^th  crude 
bricks.  It  thus  happens  that  the  so-called  tomb  of  Cyrus  in  Passar- 
gadae  enables  us  to  verify  and  to  supply  much  that  is  wanting  in  the 
buildings  at  Babylon,  and  to  realize  much  that  would  be  otherwise 
indistinct  in  their  forms. 

The  oldest  temple  we  know  of  at  present  is  the  Bowariyeh,  at 
Wurka  (Erek),  erected  by  Urukh,  at  least  2000  years  b.  c.  ;  but  now  so 
utterly  ruined,  that  it  is  difficult  to  make  out  what  it  originally  was 
like.  It  seems,  however,  to  have  consisted  of  two  stories  at  least ; 
the  lowest  about  200  feet  square,  of  sun-dried  bricks;  the  upper  is 
faced  with  burnt  bricks,  apparently  of  a  more  modern  date.  The  height 
of  the  two  stories  taken  together  is  now  about  100  feet,  and  it  is 
nearly  certain  that  a  third,  or  chamber  story,  existed  above  the  parts 
that  are  now  apparent. ^ 

The  Mugheyr  Temple ^  is  somewhat  better  preserved,  but  in  this 
case  it  is  only  the  lower  story  that  can  be  considered  old.  The 
cylinders  found  in  the  angles  of  the  upper  jDart  belong  to  Nabonidus, 
the  last  king  of  the  later  Babylonian  kingdom  ;  and  the  third  story 
only  exists  in  tradition.  Still,  from  such  information  as  we  have,  we 
gather  that  its  plan  was  originally  a  rectangle,  198  feet  by  133,  with 
nine  buttresses  in  the  longer,  and  six  m  the  shorter  faces.  Tlie  walls 
slope  inwards  in  the  ratio  of  1  in  10.  Above  them  was  a  second 
story,  119  feet  by  75,  placed  as  is  usual  nearer  one  end  of  the  lower 
story,  so  as  to  admit  of  a  staircase  being  added  at  the  other.  It  is 
47  feet  distant  from  the  south-eastern  end,  and  only  28  or  30  from 
the  other ;  but  whether  the  whole  of  this  was  occupied  by  a  flight  of 


*  Loftus,  "ChakUeaand  Babylonia,"  p.  167. 
2  Journal  R.  A.  S.,  vol.  xv.  p.  260,  et  seq. 


152 


BABYLONIA. 


Part  I. 


Steps  or  not  is  by  no  means  clear.  Taken  altogether,  the  plan  and 
probable  appearance  of  the  building  when  complete,  may  have  been 
something  like  that  represented  in  Woodcuts  Nos.  46  and  47,  though 
there  are  too  many  elements  of  uncertainty  to  make  it  a  restoration 
which  can  altogether  be  depended  upon. 


46.    Diagram  of  Elevation  of  Tempi*  at  Mughuyr.    .Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


47.   Plan  of  Temple  at  :Mugheyr.   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


The  typical  example  of  this  class  of  temples  is  the  Birs  Nimroud,* 
near  Babylon.  It  is  true  that  as  it  now  stands  every  brick  bears  the 
stamp  of  Nebochadnassar,  by  whom  it  was  repaired,  perhaps  nearly 
rebuilt ;  but  there  is  no  reason  for  supposing  that  he  changed  the 
original  plan,  or  that  the  sacred  form  of  these  temples  had  altered  in 
the  interval.  It  owes  its  more  perfect  preservation  to  the  fact  of  the 
upper  story  having  been  vitrified,  after  erection,  by  some  process 
we  do  not  quite  understand.  This  now  forms  a  mass  of  slag,  which 
has  to  a  great  extent  protected  the  lower  stories  from  atmospheric 
influences. 

In  so  far  as  it  has  been  explored,  the  lower  story  forms  a  perfect 
square,  272  feet  each  way.  Above  this  are  six  stories,  each  42  feet 
less  in  horizontal  dimensions.  These  are  not  placed  concentrically  on 
those  below  them,  but  at  a  distance  of  only  twelve  feet  from  the  south- 
eastern edge,  and  consequently  30  feet  from  the  N".  W.,  and  21  feet 
from  the  two  other  sides. 


*  Journal  R.  A.  S.,  vol.  xvili.  p.  1,  et  I  which  all  the  information  here  given  re- 
seq.,  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson's  paper,  from  |  garding  the  Birs  is  obtained. 


Bk.  II  Ch.  II. 


CHALDEAN  TEMPLES. 


153 


The  height  of  the  three  upper  stories  seems  to  have  been  ascer- 
tained with  sufficient  correctness  to  be  15  feet  each,  or  45  feet 
together.    Unfortunately  no  excavation  was  undertaken  to  ascertain 


48.   Diagram  Elevation  of  Birs  Nimroud.    Scale  100  ft.  to  4  in. 


ixxxmxTxxxxxxxx 


tXIXIXXIXXlU 


49.    Diagram  Plan  of  Birs  Nimroud.    Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 

the  height  of  the  lowest  and  most  important  story.  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinson  assumes  it  at  26 ;  and  I  have  ventured  to  make  it  45, 
from  the  analogy  of  the  tomb  of  Cyrus  and  the  temple  at  Mugheyr. 
The  height  of  the  two  intermediate  stories,  instead  of  being  22  feet 


154 


BABYLONIA. 


Part  I. 


6  inches,  as  we  might  expect,  was  26,  which  seems  to  have  resulted 
from  some  adjustment  due  to  the  chambers  which  ranged  along  their 
walls  on  two  sides.  The  exact  form  and  dimensions  of  these  chambers 
were  not  ascertained,  which  is  very  much  to  be  regretted,  as  they 
seem  the  counterpart  of  those  which  surrounded  Solomon's  Temple 
and  the  Viharas  in  India,  and  are  consequently  among  the  most  inter- 
esting peculiarities  of  this  building. 

No  attempt  was  made  to  investigate  the  design  of  the  upper 
story,  though  it  does  not  seem  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  do  so,  as 
fragments  of  its  vaulted  roof  are  strewed  about  the  base  of  the  tower- 
like fragment  that  remains,  from  which  a  restoration  might  be  effected 
by  any  one  accustomed  to  such  investigations.^  What  we  do  know  is 
that  it  was  the  cella  or  sanctuary  of  the  temple.-  There  probably  also 
was  a  shrine  on  the  third  platform. 

This  temple,  as  we  know  from  tlie  decipherment  of  the  cylinders 
which  were  found  on  its  angles,  was  dedicated  to  the  seven  planets  or 
heavenly  spheres,  and  we  find  it  consequently  adorned  with  the  colors 
of  each.  The  lower,  which  was  also  richly  panelled,  was  black,  the 
color  of  Saturn;  the  next  orange,  the  color  of  Jupiter;  the  third, 
red,  emblematic  of  Mars ;  the  fourth,  yellow,  belonging  to  the  sun  ; 
the  fifth  and  sixth,  green  and  blue  respectively,  as  dedicated  to  Venus 
and  Mercury ;  and  the  upper  probably  white,  that  being  the  color 
belonging  to  the  Moon,  Avhose  place  in  the  Chaldean  system  would  be 
uppermost. 

Access  to  each  of  these  stories  was  obtained  by  stairs,  probably 
arranged  as  shoAvn  in  the  iilan ;  these  have  crumbled  away  or  been 
removed,  though  ])robably  traces  of  them  might  still  have  been  found 
if  the  explorations  had  been  more  complete. 

Another  temple  of  the  same  class  was  exhumed  at  Khorsabad,  about 
twenty  years  ago,  by  M.  Place.  It  consisted,  like  the  one  at  Borsippa, 
of  seven  stories,  but,  as  in  this  instance,  each  was  placed  concentrically 
on  the  one  below  it :  and  instead  of  stairs  on  the  sloping  face,  a  ramj) 
wound  round  the  tower,  as  we  are  told  was  the  case  with  the  temple 
of  Belus  at  Babylon.  The  four  lower  stories  are  still  perfect :  each 
of  them  is  richly  panelled  and  colored  as  above  mentioned,  and  in 
some  parts  even  the  parapet  of  the  ramp  still  remains  in  situ.  The 
three  upper  stories  are  gone,  but  may  easily  be  restored  from  those 


1  Flandin  and  Coste,  "Voyage  en 
Perse,"  vol.  iv.  pi.  221. 

2  I  have  ventured  to  restore  the  roof 
of  the  cella  with  a  sikra  (ziggur  or  zig- 
gurah,  according  to  Rawlinson's  "Five 
Ancient  Monarchies,"  vol,  1.  p.  395,  et 
passim),  from  finding  similar  roofs  at 
Suza,  Bagdad,  Keffeli,  etc.    These  are 


certainly  indigenons,  and  borrowed  from 
some  older  type,  whether  exactly  what 
is  represented  here  is  not  clear,  it  must 
be  confessed.  It  is  offered  as  a  sugges- 
tion, the  reason  for  which  will  be  given 
when  we  come  to  speak  of  Buddhist  or 
Saracenic  architecture. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  II. 


CHALDEAN  TEMPLES. 


155 


below,  as  was  done  by  M.  Place,  as  shown  in  the  annexed  woodcut. 
According  to  him,  it  was  an  observatory,  and  had  no  cella  on  its 


Yellow 


Black 


'^JIIIllBillU 


50.   Observatory  at  Khorsabad,  from  Place's  "  Ninive  et  I'Assyrie."   Scale  50  ft.  to  %.  in. 

summit.  If  this  was  the  case  it  was  a  Semitic  temple,  and  belongs 
to  a  quite  different  religion  from  that  whose  temples  we  have  been 
describing.  But  unfortunately  there  is  no  direct  evidence  to  deter- 
mine whether  it  had  such  a  chamber  or  not.  My  own  impressions  on 
the  subject  are  decidedly  at  variance 
with  those  of  M.  Place,  but  until 
some  bas-reliefs  are  discovered  con- 
taining representations  of  these  tem- 
ples and  of  their  cells,  we  shall 
probably  hardly  ever  know  exactly 
what  the  form  of  the  crowning 
member  really  was.  From  the  imi- 
tations in  modern  times  we  seem  to 
see  dimly  that  it  was  conical,  and 
possibly  curvilinear.  The  dimen- 
sions of   this  tower  at  Khorsabad 

were    150   feet  square   at   the  base,  51.  Plan  of  Obsprvatorv.  Khorsabad.  Scale 

and  135  high  from  the  pavement  to  '  '''' 

the  platform  on  its  summit.  Its  base,  however,  was  at  a  considerable 
elevation  above  the  plain,  so  that  when  seen  from  below  it  must  have 
been  an  imposing  object. 

The  inscriptions  at  Borsippa  and  elsewhere,  mention  other  temples 


156 


BABYLONIA. 


Part  I 


of  the  same  class,  and  no  doubt  those  of  Babylon  were  more  magnifi- 
cent than  any  we  have  yet  found ;  but  they  must  always  have  been 
such  prominent  objects,  and  the  materials  of  which  they  were  com- 
posed so  easily  removed,  that  it  is  doubtful  if  anything  more  perfect 
will  now  be  found. 

The  Mujelibe,  described  by  Rich  and  afterwards  explored  without 
success  by  Layard,  is  probably  the  base  of  the  great  temple  of  Belus 
described  by  the  Greeks;  but  even  its  dimensions  can  hardly  now  be 
ascertained,  so  completely  is  it  ruined.  It  seems,  however,  to  be  a 
parallelogram  of  about  600  feet  square, ^  and  rising  to  a  height  of  about 
140  feet ;  but  no  trace  of  the  upper  stories  exist,  nor  indeed  anything 
which  would  enable  us  to  speak  witli  certainty  of  the  form  of  the  base- 
ment itself.  If  this  is  the  height  of  the  basement,  however,  analogy 
would  lead  us  to  infer  tliat  the  six  stories  rose  to  a  height  of  about 
450  feet ;  and  witli  tlie  ziggurah  or  sikra  on  their  summit,  the  whole 
height  may  very  well  have  been  the  stadium  mentioned  by  Strabo.^ 

As  before  mentioned,  we  have  fortunately  in  the  tomb  of  Cyrus  at 
Passargadae  (Woodcuts  Nos.  5'2  to  54)  a  stone  copy  of  these  temples ;  in 


52.   Tomb  of  Cyrus.   (From  Texier's  *'  Armenie  et  la  Perse.") 


this  mstance,  however,  so  small  that  it  can  hardly  be  considered  as  more 
than  a  model,  but  not  the  less  instructive  on  that  account.  Like  the  Birs 
Nimroud,  the  pyramid  consists  of  six  stories  :  the  three  upper  of  equal 
height,  in  this  instance  23^  inches ;  the  next  two  are  equal  to  each 
other,  and  as  in  Birs  Nimroud,  in  the  ratio  of  26  to  15,  or  41  inches. 
The  basement  is  equal  to  the  three  u])per  put  together,  or  5  ft.  9  in., 


1  Rich  gives  its  dimensions:  On  the 
north,  600  feet;  south,  657;  east,  546; 
and  west,  408.    But  it  is  so  ruinous  that 


only  an  average  guess  can  be  made  at  its 
original  dimensions. 
'2  Strabo,  xvi.  p.  738. 


54.    Section  of  Tomb  of  Cyrus.    (From  Texier.) 


158 


BABYLONIA. 


Part  I. 


making  a  total  of  18  ft.  4  in.^  The  height  of  the  cella  is  equal  to  the 
height  of  the  basement,  but  this  may  be  owing  to  the  small  size  of  the 
whole  edifice,  it  being  necessary  to  provide  a  chamber  of  a  given 
dimension  for  the  sepulchre.  In  the  larger  temples,  it  may  be  surmised 
that  the  height  was  divided  into  four  nearly  equal  parts  :  one  being 
given  to  the  basement,  one  to  the  two  next  stories,  one  to  the  three 
upper  stories,  and  the  fourth  to  the  chamber  on  the  summit. 

This  building  is  now  called  the  tomb  of  Cyrus,  and  most  probably 
was  so,  though  copied  from  a  form  which  we  have  just  been  describing 
as  a  temple.  But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  most  celebrated 
example  of  this  form  is  as  often  called  the  tomb  as  the  temple  of  Belus,^ 
and  among  a  Turanian  people  the  tomb  and  the  temple  may  be  con- 
sidered as  one  and  the  same  thing. 

Another  peculiarity  worth  observing  is  that  instead  of  the  walled 
enclosure  that  surrounded  the  Birs  Nimroud,^  we  have  here  an  open 
screen  of  pillars  standing  14  feet  apart,  but  certainly  not  part  of  a 
cloister,  nor  probably  even  supporting  an  entablature,  being  mere  steles 
to  mark  the  boundary  of  the  sacred  enclosure.  The  interest  of  this 
will  be  ap])arent  when  we  come  to  speak  of  Buddhist  art;  all  that  is 
required  is  to  direct  attention  to  it  here. 

There  is  one  other  source  from  which  we  may  hope  to  obtain  in- 
formation regarding  these  temples,  and  that  is  the  bas-reliefs  on  the 
walls  of  the  Assyrian  palaces.  They  drew  architecture,  however,  so 
badly,  that  it  is  necessary  to  be  very  guarded  in  considering  such 
representations  as  more  than  suggestions ;  but  the  annexed  woodcut 
(Ko.  55)  does  seem  to  represent  a  four-storied  temple,  placed  on  a 
mound,  with  very  tolerable  correctness,  and  if  the  upper  story  had 
not  been  broken  away  the  drawing  might  have  given  us  a  valuable 
hint  as  to  the  form  and  purposes  of  the  cella,  which  wa  sthe  principal 
object  of  the  erection.  Its  coloring,  too,  is  gone ;  but  the  certain 
remains  of  symbolical  colors  at  Borsippa  and  Khorsabad  confirm  so 
xiompletely  the  Greek  accounts  of  the  seven-colored  walls  of  Ecbatana 
that,  with  the  other  indications  of  the  same  sort  extant,  that  branch  of 
the  inquiry  may  be  considered  as  complete. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  now  that  the  thread  is  caught,  it  will  be 
followed  up  till  this  form  of  temple  is  thoroughly  investigated ;  for  to 
the  philosophical  student  of  architectural  history  few  recent  discoveries 
are  of  more  interest.  There  hardly  seems  a  doubt  but  that  many  tem- 
ples found  further  eastward  are  the  direct  lineal  descendants  of  these 


*  There  is  a  slight  discrepancy  in  the 
measures,  owing  to  the  absence  of  frac- 
tions in  the  calculations. 

2  It  is  called  tomb  by  Strabo,  lib.  xvi., 
and  Diodorus,  xvii.  112,  3;  temple,  He- 


rodotus, i.  181,  Arrian,  vii.  17,  2,  Pliny, 
vi.  26. 

3  See  plan  by  Ker  Porter,  vol.  ii.  p. 
323. 


Bk.II.  Ch.  II.  CIIALDEAN  TEMPLES.  .  15y 

Babylonian  forms,  though  we  as  yet  can  only  pick  up  here  and  there 
the  missing  links  of  the  chain  of  evidence  which  connects  the  one  with 
the  other.  We  know,  however,  that  Buddhism  is  essentially  the  re- 
ligion of  a  Turanian  people,  and  it  has  long  been  suspected  that  there 
was  some  connection  between  the  Magi  of  Central  Asia  and  tlie  priests 
of  that  religion,  and  that  some  of  its  forms  at  least  were  elaborated  in 


55.   Representation  of  a  Temple.    (From  a  13as  relief  from  Koyuiijik.) 


the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  If  the  architectural  investigation  is  fully 
carried  out,  I  feel  convinced  we  shall  be  able  to  trace  back  to  their 
source  many  things  which  hitherto  have  been  unexplained  mysteries, 
and  to  complete  the  history  of  this  form  of  temple  and  of  the  religion 
to  which  it  belonged,  from  the  Bowariyeh  at  Wurka,  built  2000  years 
p..  c,  to  the  Temple  of  Heaven,  erected  in  the  city  of  Pekin  within 
the  limits  of  the  present  century. 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


CHAPTER  HI. 
ASSYRIAN  PALACES. 


CHRONOLOGY. 


DATES. 

Shalmenaser  I.  formded  Nimroud  .  u.  c.  1290 
Tiglathi  Nin,  his  soil  (Ninus?)    .    .    .  .1270 

Tiglath  Pileser  1150 

Asshur-bai)i-pal  (nortli-west  palace,  Nim- 
roud)  886 

Shalmeiieser  II.  (central  jjalace,  do.).    .  859 

Shanias  Iva  822 

Iva  Lush  IV  810 

Iiiterreguum. 


DATES. 

Tiglath  Pileser  IT.  (south-eastern  palace, 

Nimroud)  B.  c.  744 

Shalnieneser  IV  726 

Sargon  (palace,  Khorsabad)  721 

Sennacherib  (palace,  Koyunjik) ....  704 
Esarhaddon  (south-western  palace,  Nim- 
roud)  680 

Sardanapalus  (central  palace,  Koyunjik)  667 
Destruction  of  Nineveh  625 


ALL  the  knowledge  wliicli  we  in  reality  possess  regarding  the  ancient 
jialatial  architecture  of  the  Euphrates  valley^  is  derived  from  the 
exploration  of  the  palaces  erected  by  the  great  Assyrian  dynasty  of 
Nineveli  during  the  two  centuries  and  a  half  of  its  greatest  prosperity. 
Fortunately  it  is  a  period  regarding  the  cin-onology  of  wliich  there  is 
no  doubt,  since  the  discovery  of  the  Assyrian  Canon  by  Sir  Henry 
Rawlinson,2  extending  up  to  tlie  year  900  n.  c;  this,  combined  with 
Ptolemy's  Canon,  fixes  the  date  of  every  king's  reign  with  almost 
absolute  certainty.  It  is  also  a  period  regarding  which  we  feel  more 
real  interest  tlian  almost  any  other  in  the  history  of  Asia.  Almost  all 
the  kings  of  that  dynasty  carried  their  conquering  arms  into  Syria,  and 
their  names  are  familiar  to  us  as  household  words,  from  the  record  of 
their  wars  in  the  Bible.  It  is  singularly  interesting  not  only  to  find 
these  records  so  completely  confirmed,  but  to  be  able  to  study  the 


^  This  chapter  and  that  next  follow- 
ing may  be  regarded  as,  in  all  essential 
respects,  an  abridgment  or  condensation 
of  the  information  contained  in  a  work 
published  by  the  author  in  1851,  en- 
titled, "The  Palaces  of  Xineveh  and 
Persepolis  Kestored,"  the  only  real  dif- 
ference being  that  the  more  perfect  de- 
cipherment of  the  inscriptions  since  that 
work  was  published  has  caused  some  of 
the  palaces  and  buildings  to  be  ascribed 
to  different  kings  and  dynasties  from 


those  to  whom  they  were  then  assigned, 
and  proved  their  dates  to  be  more  mod- 
ern than  was  suspected,  for  the  oldest  at 
least.  The  order  of  their  succession, 
however,  remains  the  same,  and  so,  con- 
sequently, do  all  the  architectural  infer- 
ences drawn  from  it.  Those  readers 
who  may  desire  further  information  on 
the  subject  are  referred  to  the  work  al- 
luded to. 

2  Published  in  1862  in  the  "  Athe- 
najum  "  journal,  No.  1812. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  III. 


ASSYRIAN  PALACES. 


161 


actual  works  of  these  very  kings,  and  to  analyze  their  feelings  and 
aspirations  from  the  pictures  of  their  actions  and  pursuits  which  they 
have  left  on  the  walls  of  their  palaces. 

From  the  accounts  left  us  by  the  Greeks  we  are  led  to  suppose 
that  the  palaces  of  Babylon  were  superior  in  beauty  and  magnificence 
to  those  of  Nineveh;  and,  judging  from  the  extent  and  size  of  the 
mounds  still  remaining  there,  it  is  quite  possible  that  such  may  have 
been  the  case ;  but  they  are  so  completely  ruined,  and  have  been  so 
long  used  as  quarries,  that  it  is  impossible  to  restore,  even  in  imagina- 
tion, these  now  formless  masses. 

One  thing  seems  nearly  certain,  which  is,  that  no  stone  was  used  in 
their  construction.  If,  consequently,  their  portals  were  adorned  with 
winged  bulls  or  lions,  they  must  have  been  in  stucco.  If  their  walls 
were  covered  with  scenes  of  war  or  the  chase,  as  those  of  Nineveh, 
they  must  have  been  painted  on  plaster ;  so  that,  though  their  dimen- 
sions may  have  been  most  imposing  and  their  splendor  dazzling,  tliey 
must  have  wanted  the  solidity  and  permanent  character  so  essential 
to  true  architectural  effect. 

It  is  tlie  employment  of  stone  which  alone  has  enabled  us  to  un- 
derstand the  arrangements  of  the  Assyrian  palaces.  Had  not  their 
portals  been  marked  by  their  colossal  genii,  we  should  hardly  have 
known  where  to  look  for  them ;  and  if  the  walls  of  their  apartments 
had  not  been  wainscoted  with  alabaster  slabs,  we  never  should  have 
been  able  to  trace  their  form  with  anything  like  certainty.  Practi- 
cally, all  we  know  of  Assyrian  art  is  due  to  the  fact  of  their  having 
so  suitable  a  material  as  alabaster  close  at  hand,  and  to  the  skill  with 
which  they  knew  how  to  employ  it.  Had  their  walls  only  been  plas- 
tered, the  mounds  of  Khorsabad  and  Nimroud  would  have  remained 
as  mysterious  now  as  they  were  before  Layard  and  Botta  revealed  to 
us  their  splendors. 

The  only  exception  to  these  remarks,  which  has  yet  come  to  light, 
is  the  so-called  Wuswus  ruin  at  Wurka.^  Whether  it  is  a  palace  or 
not  is  by  no  means  clear,  as  the  interior  is  too  much  ruined  for  its 
plan  to  be  traced  with  certainty ;  and  its  date  cannot  be  fixed  -from 
any  internal  evidence.  Some  of  the  bricks  used  in  its  construction 
bear  the  name  of  Sin  Shada,  1700  b.  c.  But  it  is  suspected  they  may 
have  been  brought  from  an  older  edifice.  Nor  does  the  style  of  its 
architecture  help  us  at  present.  The  same  sort  of  panelling  was  used 
by  Sargon  at  Khorsabad  1000  years  after  the  assumed  date ;  and 
panelling  very  like  it  is  used  even  in  the  age  of  the  Pyramids  (Wood- 
cuts Nos.  9  and  10)  1000  years  at  least  before  that  time.  With  more 
knowledge,  we  may  recognize  minor  features  which  may  enable  us  to 
discriminate  more  exactly,  but  at  present  we  only  know  that  this  class 


'  Loftus,  "Chaldeaand  Babylonia,"  p.  188. 

VOL.  1.  —  11 


162 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


of  panelling  was  used  for  the  adornment  of  external  walls  from  tte 
earliest  ages  down  at  least  to  the  destruction  of  Babylon.  It  was 
probably  used  with  well-marked  characteristics  in  progression  of 
style ;  but  these  we  have  yet  to  ascertain.  Externally  the  Wuswus 
is  a  parallelogram  256  ft.  by  173.  Like  almost  every  building  in  the 
Euphrates  valley  in  those  ancient  times,  instead  of  the  sides  facing 
the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass,  as  was  the  case  in  Egypt  in  the 
Pyramid  age,  the  angles  point  towards  them.  In  this  case  the  entrance 
is  in  the  north-east  face.  The  centre  apparently  was  occupied  by  a 
court ;  and  opposite  the  entrance  were  two  larger  and  several  smaller 
apartments,  the  larger  being  57  ft.  by  30.  The  great  interest  of  the 
building  lies  in  the  mode  in  which  the  external  walls  were  ornamented 
(Woodcuts  Nos.  56  and  57).    These  were  plastered  and  covered  by 


1 

1^1 

111 

11 

i 

1 

II 

1 

f 

^o.    Eievatiou  o£  a  portion  of  the  external  Wall  of  Wuswus,  at  Wurka.    (From  Loftus.) 


  TERRACE  I 

10  5  0  10  20  3p  *p  50  FI 

57.   Plan  of  portion  of  Wuswus. 

an  elaborate  series  of  reedings  and  square  sinkings,  forming  a  beauti- 
ful and  very  appropriate  mode  of  adorning  the  wall  of  a  building 
that  had  no  external  openings. 

This  system  is  carried  still  further  in  a  fragment  of  a  wall  in  the 
same  city,  but  of  uncertain  date.  In  this  instance  these  reedings  — 
there  are  no  panels  in  the  smaller  fragment — and  the  plain  surfaces 
are  ornamented  by  an  elaborate  mosaic  of  small  cones  about  3  or  3^ 
in.  long. .  The  butt,  or  thicker  end  of  these,  is  dipped  in  color,  and  they 
are  then  built  up  into  patterns  as  shown  in  the  woodcut  No.  58.  It  is 
probable  that  the  walls  of  the  Wuswus  were  adorned  with  similar 
patterns  in  colors,  but  being  executed  in  less  durable  materials,  have 
perished.    Indeed,  from  the  accounts  which  we  have,  as  well  as  from 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  III. 


ASSYRIAN  PALACES. 


163 


the  remains,  we  are  justified  in  asserting  that  this  style  of  archi- 
tecture depended  for  its  effect  on  color  as  much,  at  least,  if  not  more, 
than  on  form.  Could  color  be  made  as  permanent,  this  might  fre- 
quently be  wise,  but  too  great  dependence  on  it  has  deprived  us  of 
half  the  knowledge  we  might  otherwise  possess  of  the  architectural 
effects  of  other  times. 


Nineveh. 

Notwithstanding  the  wonderful  results  that  were  achieved  in  the 
ten  or  twelve  years  during  which  the  Assyrian  explorations  were  pur- 
sued with  activity,  it  is  by  no  means  impossible  but  that  much  more 


164 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECT  UIIE. 


Paut  I. 


Still  remains  to  reward  an  energetic  and  skilful  research  in  these 
mounds.  Still,  seven  palaces  have  been  more  or  less  perfectly  exhumed  ; 
four  at  Nimroud,  two  at  Koyunjik,  and  one  at  Khorsabad.  Among 
these  w^e  have  the  palaces  of  Sennacherib  and  Sardanapalus,  of 
Esarhaddon,  Sargon,  Shalmaneser,  and  probably  of  Tiglath  Pileser. 
Consequently  the  palaces  of  all  the  great  kings,  wliose  names  are  so 
familiar  to  us,  are  laid  bare.  Beyond  these,  the  palace  of  Asshur- 
bani-pal  worthily  commences  the  series  before  the  kings  of  Assyria 
came  into  contact  with  the  inhabitants  of  Syria,  and  consequently 
before  their  Biblical  record  begins.  It  may  be  that  other  works  of 
the  same  kings  may  be  discovered,  or  the  buildings  of  some  less  cele- 
brated monarch.  But  if  we  do  not  know  all  that  is  to  be  known,  we 
may  rest  assured  that  we  already  have  acquired  the  greater  part  of 
the  knowledge  that  is  to  be  obtained  from  these  explorations. 

Nimroud. 

The  oldest  of  the  buildings  hitherto  excavated  in  Assyria  is  the 
North- West  Palace  at  Nimroud,  built  by  Asshur-bani-pal,  about  the 
year  884  b.  c.  Though  not  the  largest,  it  more  than  makes  up  for  this 
deficiency  by  the  beauty  of  its  sculptures  and  the  general  elegance  of 
its  ornaments.  As  will  be  seen  by  the  annexed  woodcut  (No.  59),  the 
excavated  portion  of  the  palace  is  nearly  a  square,  about  830  ft.  each 
way.  The  principal  entrance  was  on  the  north,  at  the  head  of  a  noble 
flight  of  steps  leading  from  the  river  to  the  level  of  the  terrace  on 
which  the  palace  stood.  From  this,  two  entrances,  adorned  with 
winged  bulls,  led  to  a  great  hall,  152  ft.  in  length  by  32  in  width,  at 
the  upper  end  of  which  was  situated  the  throne,  and  at  the  lower  a 
smaller  apartment  or  vestibule  opened  on  the  terrace  that  overlooked 
the  river.  Within  the  great  hall  was  one  of  smaller  dimensions,  open- 
ing into  the  central  court  of  the  palace,  the  entrance  of  which  was  so 
arranged  as  to  ensure  privacy,  proving  that  it  partook  of  the  nature  of 
the  private  apartments  or  hareem  of  the  palace.  To  the  eastward  of 
this  was  a  suite  of  apartments,  three  deep,  decreasing  in  width  as 
they  receded  from  the  light,  but  so  arranged  that  the  inner  apart- 
ments must  have  been  entirely  dark  had  the  walls  been  carried  to  the 
ceiling.  As  will,  however,  be  presently  explained  in  describing  Khors- 
abad, it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  walls  extended  to  only  half 
the  height  of  the  rooms,  and  formed  terraces  with  dwarf  pillars  on 
their  summits,  between  which  light  was  introduced,  and  they,  in  fact, 
formed  the  upper  story  of  the  building.  To  the  south  was  a  double 
suite,  apparently  the  banqueting-halls  of  the  palace ;  and  to  the  west- 
ward a  fourth  suite,  more  ruined,  however,  than  the  rest,  owing  to  its 
being  situated  so  near  the  edge  of  the  terrace.  As  far  as  can  be  made 
out,  the  rooms  on  this  face  seem  to  have  been  arranged  three  deep : 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  III. 


PALACE  AT  NIMROUD. 


165 


the  outer  opening  on  the  terrace  by  three  portals,  the  central  one  of 
which  had  winged  bulls,  but  the  lateral  seem  to  have  been  without 
these  ornaments  ;  the  whole  fa9ade  being  about  330  ft.  in  extent, 
north  and  south. 

All  these  apartments  were  lined  with  sculptured  slabs,  represent- 
ing mostly  either  the  regal  state  of  the  sovereign,  his  prowess  in  war, 
or  amusements  during  peace,  but  many  of  them  were  wholly  devoted 
to  religious  subjects.    Beyond  these  apartments  were  many  others, 


59.   North-West  Palace  at  Nimroud.i   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


covering  at  least  an  equal  extent  of  ground,  but  their  walls  having 
been  only  plastered  and  joainted,  the  sun-burnt  bricks  of  which  they 
were  built  have  crumbled  again  to  their  original  mud.  It  is  evident, 
however,  that  they  were  inferior  to  those  already  described,  both  in 
form  and  size,  and  applied  to  inferior  purposes. 

The  mound  at  Nimroud  was  so  much  extended  after  this  palace 
was  built,  and  so  covered  by  subsequent  buildings,  that  it  is  now  im- 
possible to  ascertain  either  the  extent  or  form  of  this,  which  is  the  only 
palace  of  the  older  dynasty  known.  It  will,  therefore,  perhaps  be  as 
well  to  turn  at  once  to  Khorsabad,  which,  being  built  wholly  by  one 
king,  and  not  altered  afterwards,  will  give  a  clearer  idea  of  the  position 


1  This  plan,  with  all  the  particulars 
here  mentioned,  are  taken  from  Layard's 
work,  which  is  the  only  authority  on  the 
subject,  so  that  it  is  not  necessary  to 
refer  to  him  on  every  point-.  The  plan  is 


reduced  to  the  usual  scale  of  100  ft.  to 
1  inch,  for  easy  comparison  with  the  di- 
mensions of  all  the  other  edifices  quoted 
throughout  this  work. 


166 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Part  I. 


and  arrangements  of  an  Assyrian  palace  than  we  can  obtain  from  any 
one  on  the  Nimroud  mound.  It  has  besides  this  the  advantage  of 
being  the  only  one  so  complete  and  so  completely  excavated  as  to 
enable  us  to  form  a  correct  idea  of  what  an  Assyrian  palace  really  was 
and  of  all  its  arrangements. 


60.  Plan  of  Palace  at  Khorsabad,  showing  the  excavations  as  they  were  left  by  M.  Botta. 

No  scale. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  III. 


PALACE  AT  KHORSABAD. 


167 


KlIORSABAD.l 

The  city 'of  Khorsabad  was  situated  about  fifteen  miles  from  Nineveh, 
in  a  northerly  direction,  and  was  nearly  square  in  plan,  measuring 
about  an  English  mile  each  way.  Nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  north- 
western wall  was  a  gap,  in  which  was  situated  the  mound  on  which 
the  palace  stood.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  peculiarity  common  to  all 
Assyrian  palaces  to  be  so  situated.  Their  builders  wisely  objected  to 
being  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  houses  and  Avails,  and  at  the  same 
time  sought  the  protection  of  a  walled  enclosure  to  cover  the  gateways 
and  entrances  to  their  palaces.  At  Koyunjik  and  Nimroud  the  outer 
face  of  the  23alace  was  covered  and  protected  by  the  river  Tigris ;  and 
here  the  small  brook  Kausser  flows  past  the  fort,  and,  though  now  an 
insignificant  stream,  it  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  it  was 
dammed  up  so  as  to  form  a  lake  in  front  of  the  ])alace  when  inhab- 
ited. This  piece  of  water  may  have  been  further  deepened  by 
excavating  from  it  the  earth  necessary  to  raise  the  mound  on  which 
the  palace  stood. 

That  part  of  the  mound  in  this  instance  which  projected  between 
the  walls,  was  a  square  of  about  650  ft.  each  way,  raised  about  30  ft. 
above  the  level  of  the  plain,  and  protected  on  every  side  by  a  su])porting 
wall  cased  with  stone  of  very  beautiful  masonry  (Woodcut  No.  61). 
Behind  this,  and  inside  the  city,  was  a  somewhat  lower  mound,  about 


61.   Terrace  Wall  at  Kliorsabad. 


300  ft.  in  width  and  1300  or  1400  ft  in  length,  on  which  were  situated 
the  great  portals  of  the  palace,  together  with  the  stables  and  ofiices, 
and,  outside  the  walls  of  the  palace  properly  so-called,  the  Hareem. 
All  the  principal  apartments  of  the  palace  properly  so-called  were 


1  The  whole  of  the  information  regard- 
ing Khorsabad  is  taken  fromM.  Eotta's 
great  work  on  the  subject,  and  its  con- 


tinuation, "Ninive  ct  I'Assyrie,"  by  M. 
Victor  Place. 


168 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


reveted  with  sculptural  slabs  of  alabaster,  generally  about  9  ft.  in 
height,  like  those  at  Nimroud.  These  either  represent  the  wars,  or  the 
peaceful  amusements  of  King  Sargon,  commemorate  his  magnificence, 
or  express  his  religious  feelings. 

The  great  portals  that  gave  access  to  the  Palace  of  Khorsabad  from 
the  city  were  among  the  most  magnificent  of  those  yet  discovered. 
The  facade  in  which  they  stood  presented  a  frontage  of  330  ft.,  in  which 
were  three  portals ;  the  central  one  flanked  by  great  human-headed 


50      tOD  200  300  400  500  Fl 

SCALE. 

62.   Plau  of  Palace  at  Khorsabad,  as  completely  excavated  by  M,  Place.   The  parts  black 
and  tinted  were  actually  found.   Those  in  outline  are  conjectural. 


bulls  19  ft.  in  height,  and  on  each  side  two  other  bulls  1.5  ft.  high, 
with  a  Q-iant  stranHins:  a  lion  between  them,  as  shown  in  the  woodcut 
(No.  63),  representing  what  still  remained  of  them  when  uncovered  by 
M.  Botta,  and  now  forming  one  of  the  principal  ornaments  of  the  British 
Museum.  These  portals  were  reached  from  the  city  by  a  flight  of  steps, 


Bk.  11.  Ch.  III. 


PALACE  AT  KHORSABAD. 


169 


now  entirely  destroyed,  but  which  there  can  be  little  difficulty  in  restor- 
ino;  from  what  we  find  at 
Persepolis  and  elsewhere. 

These  portals  led  to  the 
great  outer  aourt  of  the 
palace,  measuring  315  ft. 
by  280  between  the  but- 
tresses with  which  it  was 
adorned  all  round.  On  the 
right  hand  were  six  or  seven 
smaller  courts  surrounded 
by  the  stables  and  out- 
houses of  the  palace,  which 
were  approached  by  a  ramp 
on  the  outside,  at  the  head 
of  which  was  a  block  of 
buildings  containing  the 
cellarage,  and  generally 
the  store  of  eatables.  On 
the  left  hand  of  this  court 
were  the  metal  stores,  each 
room  having  been  appro- 
priated to  iron,  copper  or 
other  such  materials,  and 
behind  them,  outside  the 
palace,  was  the  Hareem.^ 

In  the  northern  angle 
a  rather  insignificant  pass- 
age formed  a  means  of  com- 
munication between  this 
great  outer  court  and  the 
next,  which  was  360  ft. 
long  by  200  wide,  and 
probably  open  to  the  coun- 
try, at  least  in  front  of 
the  great  portals.  On  the 
inner  side  of  this  second 
court  a  magnificent  portal 
opened  into  what  appears 
to  have  been  the  residential 
portion  of  the  palace,  mea- 
suring nearly  300  by  500 
ft.  over  all. 

The  proper  entrance  to 


1  These  particulars  are  all  borrowed  from  M.  Place's  great  work, 
I'Assyrie,"  folio.    Paris,  1865. 


"Ninive  ef 


170 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


tliis  court  was  by  the  ramp  before  alluded  to,  which  was  indeed  the 
only  access  to  the  palace  for  chariots  and  horsemen.  From  the  second 
court,  through  the  only  vaulted  passage  in  the  palace,  access  was 
obtained  to  the  state  apartments  looking  over  the  country.  The  three 
principal  of  these  are  shown  to  a  larger  scale  in  the  woodcut  (Ko.  64), 


/ 


84.   Enlarged  Plan  of  tlie  Tliree  Principal  Koonis  at  Kliorsabad.    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 

with  their  dimensions  figured  upon  them.  The  next  woodcut  (No.  65) 
is  a  restored  section  of  these  apartments,  showing  what  their  arrange- 
ment was,  and  the  mode  in  which  it  is  conceived  they  were  roofed, 
according  to  the  information  gathered  on  tlie  spot,  and  what  we  find 
afterwards  practised  at  Persepolis  and  elsewhere.  ^ 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  area  covered  by  the  walls  is  of  nearly 
the  same  extent  as  that  of  the  rooms  tliemselves,  so  that  the  galleries 
formed,  in  fact,  an  upper  story  to  the  palace ;  and  thus,  in  the  heat  of 
the  day,  the  thickness  of  the  walls  kept  the  inner  apartments  free  from 
heat  and  glare,  while  in  the  evenings  and  mornings  the  galleries 
formed  airy  and  light  apartments,  affording  a  view  over  the  country, 


1  Space  will  not  admit  of  my  entering 
into  all  the  reasons  for  tliis  restoration 
here.  If  any  one  wislies  for  further  infor- 
mation on  the  subject,  I  must  refer  liim 
to  my  "  Palaces  of  Nineveli  and  Persepo- 
lis Restored,"  published  in  1851.  Notli- 
inghas  occurred  during  tlie  twenty-three 
years  that  have  elapsed  since  that  work 


was  publislied  that  has  at  all  shaken  my 
views  on  the  correctness  of  the  data  on 
wliich  tliese  restorations  were  based.  On 
the  contrary,  every  subsequent  research 
has  served  only  more  and  more  to  con- 
vince me  of  their  general  correctness, 
and  I  cannot  now  suggest  any  improve- 
ment even  in  details. 


15k.  II.  Ch.  III. 


PALACE  AT  K110HSAI3AD. 


173 


and  open  on  every  side  to  the  breezes  that  at  times  blow  so  refresh- 
ingly over  the  plains.  It  will  also  be  observed  that  by  this  arrange- 
ment the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  could  never  penetrate  into  the  halls 
themselves,  and  that  rain,  or  even  damp,  could  easily  be  excluded  by 
means  of  curtains  or  screens. 

The  whole  of  these  state-rooms  were  reveted  with  sculptured  ala- 
baster slabs,  as  shown  in  the  section  ;  above  which  the  walls  were 
decorated  with  conventional  designs  painted  on  stucco,  remains  of 
which  were  found  among  the  debris. 

The  external  face  of  this  suite,  as  seen  from  the  north-eastern 
court,  was  probably  something  very  like  what  is  shown  in  the  wood- 
cut (No.  66),  though  there  are  less  materials  for  restoring  the  exterior 
than  there  are  for  the  internal  parts  of  the  palace.  The  arched 
entrance  to  the  court,  shown  on  the  left,  is  certain  :  so  also,  I  conceive, 
is  the  mode  in  which  the  light  was  introduced  into  the  apartments. 
The  details  of  the  pillars  are  not  so  certain,  though  not  admitting 
of  much  latitude  of  doubt. 

As  before  mentioned,  outside  the  palace  stood  the  Hareem,  of  a 
somewhat  irregular  form,  but  measuring  400  ft.  by  280,  distinguished 
in  the  plan  (Woodcut  No.  62)  by  being  tinted  by  hatching.  The 
whole  of  its  external  walls  are  adorned  with  reeded  pilasters,  and 
panels  like  those  of  the  Wuswus  at  Wurka  (Woodcut  No.  56),  which 
is  not  the  case  with  any  other  part  of  the  palace.  It  has  only  one 
small  external  opening  from  the  terrace,  and  another  which  may  be 
called  a  concealed  one  from  the  great  outer  court.  Internally  its 
arrangements  are  very  remarkable.  First  there  is  an  outer  court,  into 
which  these  two  entrances  open,  and  within  that  two  other  courts,  on 
whose  side  are  extended  what  may  be  called  three  complete  suites  of 
apartments,  very  similar  to  each  other  in  arrangement,  though  varied 
in  dimensions.  It  looks  as  if  each  was  appropriated  to  a  queen,  and 
that  their  relative  magnificence  accorded  with  the  dignity  of  the 
person  to  whom  it  was  assigned.  But  are  we  justified  in  assuming 
that  Sargon  had  three  queens,  and  only  that  number  of  legitimate 
wives  ?  Assuming  this,  however,  there  is  still  room  in  this  Hareem 
for  any  number  of  concubines  and  their  attendants. 

The  central  court  of  the  Hareem  is  one  of  the  richest  discoveries 
that  rewarded  M.  Place's  industry.  It  was  adorned  with  six  free- 
standing statues  —  the  smaller  court  with  two  —  and  the  walls  were 
wainscoted  with  enamelled  tiles  representing  the  king,  his  vizier,  lions, 
eagles,  vines,  and  fruits,  and  other  objects  in  a  bright  yellow  color 
on  a  blue  ground.  The  whole  is  in  fact  one  of  the  most  curious  and 
interesting  discoveries  yet  made  in  these  palaces. 

As  it  can  hardly  admit  of  a  doubt  that  this  was  really  the  Hareem 
of  the  palace,  it  is  curious  that  such  a  building  as  the  observatory 
described  above  (p.  155),  should  have  been  erected  in  its  immediate 


174 


HISTORY  OF  AKCIlITECTL'llE 


Part  1. 


proximity.  Every  one  ascending  the  ramp  or  standing  on  its  summit 
must  have  looked  into  its  courts,  unless  they  were  covered  with  awn- 
ings or  roofs  in  some  manner  we  do  not  quite  understand ;  and  we 
can  hardly  assume  that  such  a  tower  was  intended  as  the  praying 
place  of  tlie  king  and  the  king  only.  The  fact  is  undoubted,  however 
we  may  explain  it. 

From  the  above  description  it  will  be  observed  that  in  every  case 
the  principal  part,  the  great  mass,  of  the  palace  was  the  terrace  on 
which  it  stood,  whicli  was  raised  by  artificial  means  to  a  height  of 
30  ft.  and  more,  and,  as  shown  in  the  illustration  (Woodcut  No.  61), 
carefully  reveted  with  stone.  On  this  stood  the  palace,  consisting 
principally  of  one  great  block  of  private  apartments  situated  around 
an  inner  square  court.  From  this  central  mass  two  or  three  suites 
of  apartments  projected  as  wings,  so  arranged  as  to  be  open  to  the 
air  on  three  sides,  and  to  give  great  variety  to  the  outline  of  the  pal- 
ace as  seen  from  below,  and  great  play  of  light  and  shade  in  every 
aspect  under  which  the  building  could  be  surveyed.  So  far  also  as 
w^e  can  judge,  the  whole  arrangements  were  admirably  adapted  to  the 
climate,  and  the  ornaments  not  only  elegant  in  themselves,  but  singu- 
larly expressive  and  appropriate  to  the  situations  in  which  they  are 
found. 


Another  most  important  discovery  of  M.  Place  is  that  of  the  great 
arched  gates  of  the  city.    These  were  apparently  always  constructed 


SCALE 

67.   City  Gateways,  Khorsabad.    (From  M.  Place.) 

in  pairs  —  one  for  the  use  of  foot-passengers,  the  other  for  wheeled 
carriages,  as  shown  by  the  marks  of  wheels  worn  into  the  pavement 
in  the  one  case,  while  it  is  perfectly  smooth  in  the  other.i 


1  From  the  discovery  of  these  arches, 
M.  Place  jumped  instantly  to  the  con- 
clusion that  because  the  Assyrians  could 
construct  an  arch  18  feet  span  with  kiln- 
burnt  bricks  for  a  city  gate,  therefore 
they  vaulted  all  the  rooms  of  their  pal- 


aces with  sww-dried  bricks,  though  some 
of  these  apartments  were  upward  of  40 
feet  in  width ! 

It  would  have  been  quite  as  logical  to 
reason  that  because  all  the  gates  of  all 
the  walled  cities  in  Europe  are  arched, 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  III. 


KHOESABAD. 


175 


Those  appropriated  to  carriages  liad  plain  jambs  rising  perpen- 
dicularly 12  or  15  ft.  These  siii)ported  a  semi-circular  arch,  18  ft.  in 
diameter,  adorned  on  its  face  with  an  archivolt  of  great  beauty, 


City  Gateway  at  Khorsabad.    (From  M.  Place.) 


formed  of  blue  enamelled  bricks,  with  a  pattern  of  figures  and  stars 
of  a  warm  yellow^  color,  relieved  upon  it. 


therefore  all  the  rooms  of  the  houses  in- 
side are  arched  also ;  and  far  more  logical 
to  reason  that,  because  we  can  construct 
arches  100  or  150  feet  span  for  our 
bridges,  we  should  construct  equally 
wide  vaults  for  our  room.  We  do  not, 
however;  nor  did  the  Assyrians. 

In  the  first  place,  a  mud-brick  vault 
40  feet  in  span  would  crush  with  its  own 
weight ;  and  if  employed  in  such  rooms, 
for  instance,  as  v.,  vi,,  andvii.of  Botta's 
plan,  they  nuist  have  been  in  absolute 
darkness.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is, 
that  I  foresaw  and  announced  M.  Place's 
discovery  long  before  he  went  to  Khors- 
abad.* What  he  has  done  since  does  not 
induce  me  to  alter  any  feature  in  the 
restoration  I  then  proposed. 

The  Rev.  Geo.  Rawlinson's  proposal  to 
cover  the  halls  with  flat  roofs  of  timber. 


*  "  Palaces  of  Nineveh  and  Persepolis  Re- 
stored," p.  259. 


\vithout  any  supports,  is  equally  unten- 
able.! If  he  had  asked  any  practical 
builder  what  extent  he  would  roof  in  this 
manner  without  any  framing,  and  with 
no  other  protection  above  than  a  heavy 
flooring  of  mud,  he  would  probably  have 
found  20  feet  more  than  most  men  would 
like  to  undertake,  and  some  of  the  halls 
require  roofs  42  and  43  feet  in  span.  In 
India  we  cannot  roof  spans  beyond  25  or 
20  feet,  though  we  have  saul  and  teak 
t  imber:  at  best,  the  Assyrians  had  cedar. 
In  India  also  we  have  perfectly  burnt  tiles 
and  exquisite  chunam;  neither  of  which 
the  Assyrians  possessed,  or  at  least  used 
for  this  purpose,  or  their  remains  would 
have  been  found  on  the  floors.  If  Mr. 
Kawlinson  will  show  the  Indians  how  to 
accomplish  40  feet  with  even  these  per- 
fect materials,  he  would  be  the  greatest 


t  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  i.  p.  385. 


176 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


The  gateways  for  foot-passengers  were  nearly  of  the  same  dimen- 
sions, about  14  or  15  ft.  broad,  but  they  were  ornamented  by  winged 
bulls  with  human  heads,  between  which  stood  giants  strangling  lions. 
In  the  example  illustrated  in  the  annexed  woodcut  (No.  68),  the  arch 
sprang  directly  from  the  backs  of  the  bulls,  and  was  ornamented  by 
an  archivolt  similar  to  that  over  the  carriage  entrances,  and  which  is 
perhaps  as  beautiful  a  mode  of  ornamenting  an  arch  as  is  to  be  found 
anywhere. 

Other  arches  have  been  found  in  these  Assyrian  excavations,  but 
none  of  such  extent  as  these,  and  none  which  show  more  completely 


69.    Interior  of  a  Yezidi  House  at  Burka,  in  the  Sinjar. 


how  w^ell  the  Assyrians  in  the  time  of  Sargon  (I'll  b,  c.)  understood 
not  only  the  construction  of  the  arch,  but  also  its  use  as  a  decorative 
architectural  feature. i 


architectural  benefactor  tliey  have  seen 
for  a  very  long  time. 

It  may,  however,  be  asked,  If  this  is 
so  clear  as  here  assumed,  why  should 
men  put  aside  a  reasonable,  feasible,  and 
beautiful  mode  of  roofing,  to  propose 
impossible  arches,  and  still  less  feasible 
flats  ?  The  answer  seems  easy  and  ob- 
vious, but  too  controversial  and  personal 
to  be  entered  upon  here. 


^  These  gateways  are  extremely  inter- 
esting to  the  Biblical  student,  inasmuch 
as  they  are  the  only  examples  which  en- 
able us  to  understand  the  gateways  of 
the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  as  described  by 
Ezekiel.  Their  dimensions  are  nearly  the 
same,  but  the  arrangement  of  the  side 
chambers  and  of  gates  generally  are  al- 
most identical.  These  gates  had  been  built 
100  years,  at  least,  before  Ezekiel  wrote. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  111. 


PALACE  AT  KOYUNJIK. 


177 


There  must  always  be  many  points,  even  in  royal  residences,  which 
would  be  more  easily  understood  if  we  knew  the  domestic  manners 
and  usages  prevalent  among  the  common  people  of  the  same  era  and 
country.  This  knowledge  we  actually  can  supply  in  the  present  case, 
to  a  great  extent,  from  modern  Eastern  residences.  Such  a  mode  of 
illustration  in  tlie  West  would  be  out  of  the  question ;  but  in  tlie  East, 
manners  and  customs,  processes  of  manufacture  and  forms  of  building, 
liave  existed  unchanged  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present  day. 
This  immutability  is  the  greatest  charm  of  the  East,  and  frequently 
enables  us  to  understand  what  in  our  own  land  would  have  utterly 
faded  away  and  been  obliterated.  In  the  Yezidi  House,  for  instance, 
borrowed  from  Mr.  L^fyard's  work,  we  see  an  exact  reproduction, 
in  every  essential  respect,  of  the  style  of  building  in  the  days  of 
Sennacherib.  Here  we  have  tlie  wooden  pillars  with  bracket  capitals, 
supporting  a  mass  of  timber  intended  to  be  covered  with  a  thickness 
of  earth  sufficient  to  prevent  the  rain  or  heat  from  penetrating  to  the 
dwelling.  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  houses  of  the  humbler 
classes  were  in  former  times  similar  to  that  here  represented  ;  and 
this  very  form  amplified  into  a  palace,  and  the  walls  and  pillars 
ornamented  and  carved,  would  exactly  correspond  Avith  the  principal 
features  of  the  palace  of  the  great  Assyrian  king. 


Palace  of  Sennacherib,  Koyunjik. 

Having  said  so  much  of  Khorsabad,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  say 
much  about  the  palace  at  Koyunjik,  built  by  Sennacherib,  the  son  of 
the  Khorsabad  king. 

As  the  great  metropolitan  palace  of  Nineveh,  it  was  of  course  of 
far  greater  extent  and  far  more  magnificent  than  the  suburban  palace 
of  his  father.  The  mound  itself  on  which  it  stands  is  about  1^  mile 
in  circumference  (7800  ft.)  ;  and,  as  the  whole  was  raised  artificially 
to  the  height  of  not  less  than  30  ft.,  it  is  in  itself  a  work  of  no  mean 
magnitude. 

The  principal  j^alace  stood  at  the  south-western  angle  of  this  mound, 
and  as  far  as  the  excavation  has  been  carried  seems  to  have  formed  a 
square  of  about  600  ft.  each  Avay  —  double  the  lineal  dimensions  of  that 
at  Nimroud.  Its  general  arrangements  were  very  similar  to  those  at 
Khorsabad,  but  on  a  larger  scale.  It  enclosed  within  itself  two  or  three 
great  internal  courts,  surrounded  with  sixty  or  seventy  apartments, 
some  of  great  extent.  The  principal  fayade,  facing  the  east,  sur])assed 
any  of  those  of  Khorsabad,  both  in  size  and  magnificence,  being  adorned 
by  ten  winged  bulls  of  the  largest  dimensions,  with  a  giant  between 
each  of  the  two  principal  2xternal  ones,  in  the  manner  shown  in  the 
woodcut  (No.  63),  besides  smaller  sculptures  —  the  whole  extending 
to  a  length  of  not  less  tlian  350  ft.  The  principal  facade  at  Khorsabad, 

VOL.  L  — 12 


178 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


as  above  mentioned,  extended  330  ft.,  but  the  bulls  and  the  portals 
there  were  to  those  at  Koyunjik  in  the  proportion  of  30  to  40,  which 
nearly,  indeed,  expresses  the  relative  magnificence  of  the  two  palaces. 
Inside  the  great  portal  at  Koyunjik  was  a  hall,  180  ft.  in  length  by  42  in 
width,  with  a  recess  at  each  end,  through  which  access  was  obtained  to 
two  courtyards,  one  on  the  right  and  one  on  the  left ;  and  beyond  these  to 
the  other,  and  apparently  the  more  private  apartments  of  the  palace, 
which  overlooked  the  country  and  the  river  Tigris,  flowing  to  the 
westward  of  the  palace — the  principal  entrance,  as  at  Khorsabad,  being 
from  the  city.^ 

It  is  impossible,  of  course,  to  say  how  much  further  the  palace 
extended,  though  it  is  probable  that  nearly *all  the  apartments  which 
were  reveted  with  sculptures  have  been  laid  open  ;  but  what  has  been 
excavated  occupies  so  small  a  portion  of  the  mound  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  be  unimpressed  with  the  conviction  that  it  forms  but  a  very 
small  fraction  of  the  imperial  palace  of  Nineveh.  Judging  even  from 
what  has  as  yet  been  uncovered,  it  is,  of  all  the  buildings  of  antiquity, 
alone  surpassed  in  magnitude  by  the  great  palace-temple  at  Karnac ; 
and  when  we  consider  the  vastncss  of  the  mound  on  which  it  was 
raised,  and  the  richness  of  the  ornaments  with  which  it  was  adorned, 
a  doubt  arises  whether  it  was  not  as  great,  or  at  least  as  expensive,  a 
work  as  the  great  palace-temples  of  Tliebes.  The  latter,  however,  were 
built  with  far  higher  motives,  and  designed  to  last  through  ages,  while 
the  palace  at  Nineveh  was  built  only  to  gratify  the  barbaric  pride  of 
a  wealthy  and  sensual  monarch,  and  perished  with  the  ephemeral 
dynasty  to  which  he  belonged. 

Palace  of  Esarh addon. 

Another  Assyrian  palace,  of  which  considerable  remains  still  exist, 
is  that  of  Esarhaddon,  commonly  known  as  the  South-West  Palace  at 
Nimroud.  Like  the  others,  this,  too,  has  been  destroyed  by  fire,  and 
the  only  part  that  remains  sufficiently  entire  to  be  described  is  the 
entrance  or  southern  liall.  Its  general  dimensions  are  165  ft.  in  length 
by  62  ft.  in  width,  and  it  consequently  is  the  largest  hall  yet  found  in 
Assyria.  The  architects,  however,  either  from  constructive  necessities 
or  for  purposes  of  state,  divided  it  down  the  centre  by  a  wall  supporting 
dwarf  columns,  forming  a  central  gallery,  to  which  access  was  had  by 
bridge  galleries  at  both  ends,  a  mode  of  arrangement  capable  of  great 


1  Layard's  excavations  here  furnish 
us  with  what  has  not  been  found,  or  has 
been  overlooked  elsewhere,  e.  {/.,  a  ramp, 
or  windinc:  staircase  leadinqj  to  the  upper 
story  ("Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  4(51 ). 
As  explained  above,  I  believe  the  tops  of 
the  walls,  which  are  equal  to  the  floor 


s]iace  below,  formed  such  a  story.  This 
ramp  at  Koyunjik  -would  just  suffice  to 
lead  to  them,  and  goes  far  to  prove  the 
theory.  If  it  was  similarly  situated  at 
Khorsabad,  it  would  be  in  the  part  fallen 
away. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  III. 


ASSYRIAN  PALACES. 


179 


variety  and  picturesqueness  of  effect,  and  of  which  there  is  little  doubt 
that  the  builders  availed  themselves  to  the 
fullest  extent.  This  led  into  a  courtyard  of 
considerable  dimensions,  surrounded  by  apart- 
ments, but  they  are  too  much  destroyed  by 
fire  to  be  intelligible. 

Another  great  palace,  built,  as  appears  from 
the  inscriptions,  by  a  son  of  Esarhaddon,  has 
been  discovered  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the 
mound  at  Koyunjik.    Its  terrace-wall  has  been 
explored  for  nearly  300  ft.  in  two  directions 
from  the  angle  near  wliich  the  principal  entrance 
is  placed.     This  is  on  a  level  20  ft.  lower  than 
the  palace  itself,  which  is  reached  by  an  inclined 
passage  nearly  200  ft.  in  length,  adorned  with  70.  Haii  of  south-West  Palace, 
sculpture  on  both  sides.    The  palace  itself,  as       Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in, 
far  as  its  exploration  has  been  carried,  appears  similar  in  its  arrange- 
ments to  those  already  described ;  but  the  sculptures  with  which  it 
is  adorned  are  more  minute  and  delicatej  and  show  a  more  perfect 


71.   Central  Palace,  Koyunjik.    Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


180 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Tart  I 


imitation  of  nature,  than  the  earlier  examples,  though  inferior  to  them 
in  grandeur  of  conception  and  breadth  of  design. 

The  architectural  details  also  display  a  degree  of  elegance  and  an 
amount  of  elaborate  finish  not  usually  found  in  the  earlier  examples, 
as  is  Avell  illustrated  by  the  Woodcut  No.  72,  representing  one  of  the 
pavement  slabs  of  the  palace.  It  is  of  the  same  design,  and  similarly 
ornamented,  but  the  finish  is  better,  and  the  execution  more  elaborate, 
than  in  any  of  the  more  ancient  examples  we  are  acquainted  with. 


72.   Pavement  Slab  from  the  Central  Palace,  Koyunjik. 

Besides  these,  there  were  on  the  mound  at  Nimroud  a  central  palace 
built  by  Tiglath  Pileser,  and  one  at  the  south-eastern  angle  of  the 
mound,  built  by  a  grandson  of  Esarhaddon ;  but  both  are  too  mucli 
ruined  for  its  being  feasible  to  trace  either  their  form  or  extent. 
Around  the  great  pyramid  at  the  north-west  angle  of  the  mound, 
were  buildings  more  resembling  temples  than  any  others  on  it  — 
all  the  sculj^ures  upon  them  pointing  ajjparently  to  devotional  pui- 
poses,  though  in  form  they  differed  but  little  from  the  palaces.  At  the 
same  time  there  is  certainly  nothing  in  them  to  indicate  that  the 
mound  at  the  base  of  which  they  Avere  situated  was  appropriated  to 
the  dead,  or  to  funereal  purposes.  Between  the  north-west  and  south- 
west palaces  there  was  also  raised  a  terrace  higher  than  the  rest,  on 
which  were  situated  some  chambers,  the  use  of  which  it  is  not  easy  to 
determine. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  III. 


ASSYRIAN  PALACES. 


181 


Notwithstanding  tlie  impossibility  that  now  exists  of  making  out 
all  the  details  of  the  buildings  situated  on  the  great  mounds  of  Nimroud 
and  Koyunjik,  it  is  evident  that  these  great  groups  of  buildings  must 
have  ranked  among  the  most  splendid  monuments  of  antiquity,  sur- 
rounded as  they  were  by  stone-faced  terraces,  and  approached  on  every 
side  by  noble  flights  of  stairs.  When  all  the  palaces  vvdth  their  towers 
and  temples  were  seen  gay  with  color,  and  crowded  with  all  the  state 
and  splendor  of  an  Eastern  monarch,  they  must  have  formed  a  scene 
of  such  dazzling  magnificence  that  one  can  easily  comprehend  how  the 
inhabitants  of  the  little  cities  of  Greece  or  Judea  were  betrayed  into 
such  extravagant  hyperbole,  when  speaking  of  the  size  and  s2:>lendor 
of  the  great  cities  of  Assyria. 

The  worst  feature  of  all  this  splendor  was  its  ephemeral  character 
—  though  perhaps  it  is  owing  to  this  very  fact  that  we  now  know  so 
much  about  it  —  for,  like  the  reed  that  bends  to  the  storm  and  recovers 
its  elasticity,  while  the  oak  is  snapped  by  its  violence,  these  relics  of 
a  past  age  have  retained  to  some  extent  their  pristine  beauty.  Had 
these  buildings  been  constructed  like  those  of  the  Egyptians,  their 
remains  would  probably  have  been  applied  to  other  purposes  long  ago, 
but  having  been  overwhelmed  so  early  and  forgotten,  they  have  been 
preserved  to  our  day;  nor  is  it  difficult  to  see  how  this  has  occurred. 
The  pillars  that  supported  the  roof  being  of  wood,  probably  of  cedar, 
and  the  beams  on  the  under  side  of  the  roof  being  of  the  same  material, 
nothing  was  easier  than  to  set  fire  to  them.  The  fall  of  the  roofs,  which 
were  probably  composed,  as  at  the  present  day,  of  five  or  six  feet  of 
earth,  and  which  is  requisite  to  keep  out  heat  as  well  as  wet,  would 
alone  suffice  to  bury  the  building  up  to  the  height  of  the  sculptures.  The 
gradual  crumbling  of  the  thick  walls  consequent  on  their  unprotected 
exposure  to  the  atmosphere  would  add  three  or  four  feet  to  this :  so  that 
it  is  hardly  too  much  to  suppose  that  green  grass  might  have  been  grow- 
ing over  the  buried  palaces  of  Nineveh  before  two  or  three  years  had 
elapsed  from  the  time  of  their  destruction  and  desertion.  When  once 
this  had  taken  place,  the  mounds  afforded  far  too  tempting  positions 
not  to  be  speedily  occupied  by  the  villages  of  the  natives;  and  a  few 
centuries  of  mud-hut  building  would  complete  the  process  of  entomb- 
ment so  completely  as  to  protect  the  hidden  remains  perfectly  for  the 
centuries  during  which  they  have  lain  buried.  These  have  now  been 
recovered  to  such  an  extent  as  enables  us  to  restore  their  form  almost 
as  certainly  as  we  can  those  of  the  temples  of  Greece  or  Rome,  or  of 
any  of  the  great  nations  of  antiquity. 

It  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  at  some  future  period  we  may 
be  able  to  restore  much  that  is  now  unintelligible,  from  the  represent- 
ations of  buildings  on  the  sculptures,  and  to  complete  our  account  of 
their  style  of  architecture  from  illustrations  drawn  by  the  Assyrians 


182 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


themselves.  One  or  two  of  these  have  already  been  published.  The 
annexed  woodcut,  for  instance  (No.  73),  of  a  bas-relief  representing  a 


73.   Pavilion,  from  the  Sculptures  at  Kliorsabad. 

little  fishing-pavilion  on  the  water's  edge,  exhibits  in  a  rude  manner 
all  the  parts  of  an  Assyrian  order  with  its  entablature,  and  the  capital 


74.   Assyrian  Temple,  North  Palace,  Koyunjik.   (From  Rawlinson.) 

only  requires  to  be  slightly  elongated  to  make  it  similar  to  those  found 
at  Persepolis. 


Bk  II.  Ch.  III.  ASSYRIAN  PALACES.  183 

Another  from  the  Central  Palace,  Koyunjik,  repeats  the  same  ar- 
rangement, with  pillars  which  must  be  considered  as  early  examples 


75.   Bas-relief,  representing  fayade  of  Assyrian  Palace.   (From  British  Museum.) 


of  the  Corinthian  order,  and,  if  we  may  trust  the  drawing,  it  likewise 
represents  an  aqueduct  with  horizontally  constructed  arches  of  pointed 
form. 

A  third  representation  (No.  75)  from  the  same  palace  seems  intended 
to  portray  a  complete  palace  fa9ade,  with  its  winged  bulls  in  the  en- 


76.   Exterior  of  a  Palace,  from  a  Bas-relief  at  Koyunjik. 


trance  and  its  colossal  lions  on  the  front.  Above  these  animals,  but  not 
apparently  meant  to  be  represented  as  resting  on  them,  are  pillars  in 


184 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I 


aiitis,  as  in  the  two  previous  ilhistrations.^  Unfortunately  the  cornice 
is  broken  away,  and  the  whole  is  more  carelessly  executed  than  is  usual 
in  these  sculptures. 

Another  curious  representation  (Woodcut  No.  76)  is  that  of  a 
l^alace  of  two  stories,  from  a  bas-relief  at  Koyunjik,  showing  a  range 
of  openings  under  the  roof  in  both  stories,  each  opening  being  divided 
into  three  parts  by  two  Ionic  columns  between  square  piers,  and  are 
probably  meant  to  represent  such  an  arrangement  as  that  shown  in 
Woodcuts  Nos.  73  and  74.  On  the  right  the  upper  story  is  a  correct 
representation  of  the  panelled  style  of  ^rnamentation  above  alluded  to 
as  recently  discovered  at  Khorsabad  and  elsewhere,  and  which  we 
know  from  recent  discoveries  to  have  been  so  favorite  a  mode  of 
decorating  walls  in  that  age. 

The  most  remarkable  fact,  however,  that  we  gather  from  all  these 
illustrations,  is  that  the  favorite  arrangement  was  a  group  of  pillars 

"  distyle  in  antis,"  as  it  is 
technically  termed ;  viz.,  two 
circular  pillars  between  two 
square  piers.    It  is  frequently 
found  elsewhere  in  the  fayade 
of  tombs,  but  here  it  seems  to 
have  been  repeated  over  and 
over  again  to  make  up  a  com- 
plete design.     For  a  temple 
such  an  arrangement  would 
have  been  inadmissible  ;  for  a 
palace  it  seems  singularly  ap- 
propriate and  elegant, 
no  doubt,  do  much  to  complete  the 
subject ;  and  when  the  names 
written  over  these  bas-reliefs 
are  definitively  deciphered,  we 
may  find  that  we  really  possess 
contemporary  representations,  if 
not  of  Jerusalem,  at  least  of 
Lachish,  Susa,  and  other  cities 
familiar  to  us  both  from  ancient 
and  from  modern  history. 

We  have  no  representation 
of  the  dwellings  of  private  in- 
dividuals so  complete  as  to  enable 
Horse-Tent  (Nimrou  1).  iq  understand  them,  but  there 


77.  King's  Tent.  (From  Bas-relief ,  British  Museum.) 

Further  comparisons  wi 


1  This  facade,  as  I  read  it,  is  identical  I  ace  as  a  representation  of  an  Assyrian  f a- 
with  the  one  I  erected  at  the  Crystal  Pal- 1  pade,  long  before  this  slab  was  exhumed. 


bk.  II.  ch.  in. 


ASSYRIAN  TEMPLES. 


185 


are  several  of  royal  camps  which  are  interesting.  Among  the  most 
curious  of  these  are  the  i-epresentations  of  the  tents  of  the  king  and 
his  nobles.  One  of  these  is  shown  in  Woodcut  No.  77,  though  how  it 
was  constructed  is  by  no  means  clear.  It  seems  to  have  been  open  in 
the  centre  to  the  air,  but  covered  at  either  end  by  a  sort  of  hood  so 
arranged  as  to  catch  the  passing  breeze,  and  afford  protection  from 
rain  at  the  same  time.  The  annexed  woodcut  (No.  78),  representing 
the  front  and  one  side  of  the  royal  horse-tent,  gives  a  good  idea  of 
the  luxury  and  elegance  that  was  carried  into  the  detail  even  of  sub- 
ordinate structures. 


Elevation  of  Stylobate 
of  Temple. 


Temples  and  Tombs. 

Except  the  Chaldean-formed  temples,  which  have  been  described 
in  the  previous  chapter,  there  are  no  religious  edifices  sufficiently 
complete  to  enable  us  to  form  a  distinct  idea 
of  what  the  architectural  arrangements  of  these 
temples  were.    As  belonging  to  a  Semitic  people 
we  should  expect  them  to  be  few  and  insignificant. 

So  little  remains  of  the  temple  at  Khorsabad 
that  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  its  original  form 
may  have  been ;  the  terrace,  however,  w  hich  sup- 
ported it  is  interesting,  as  it  shows  almost  the 
only  instance  of  a  i)erfect  Assyrian  moulding  or 
cornice  betraying  a  similarity  to  the  forms  of 
Egyptian  architecture  which  we  do  not  find  else- 
where. The  curve,  however,  is  not  exactly  that 
of  an  Egyptian  cornice,  being  continued  beyond 
the  vertical  tangent;  but  this  may  have  arisen 
from  the  terrac^being  only  six  feet  in  height,  which 
placed  the  curve  below  the  line  of  sight,  and  so 
required  a  different  treatment  from  one  placed  so 
high  above  it  as  is  usually  the  case  in  Egypt. 

The  bas-relief  on  the  next  page  is  perhaps  the  best  sculptured  rep- 
resentation that  exists  of  what  we  might  fancy  an  Assyrian  temple  to 
have  been.  The  emblem  so  enshrined  is  probably  the  Asheerah,  or 
grove,  to  the  worship  of  which  the  Israelites  at  all  times  showed 
such  a  tendency  to  relapse,  and  is  one  of  the  most  frequent  objects  of 
adoration  among  the  Assyrians. 

As  a  Semitic  people  we  should  hardly  expect  to  find  any  tombs 
among  them,  and  indeed,  unless  the  pyramid  at  the  north-west  angle 
of  the  Nimroud  mound  is  the  tomb  of  Sardanapalus,  mentioned  by  the 
Greeks,!  it  is  not  clear  that  a  single  Assyrian  sepulchre  has  yet  been 
discovered.    Those  that  crowd  and  choke  the  ruins  of  Warka  and 


80. 


Section  of  Stylobate 
of  Temple. 


1  See  Rawlinson,  ''Ancient  Monarchies,"  vol.  i.  p.  398. 


186 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


Mugheyr  and  other  cities  of  Babylonia  are  the  remains  of  a  Turanian 
people  who  always  respected  their  dead,  and  paid  especial  attention 
to  the  preservation  of  their  bodies.  The  pyramid  at  Nimroud  seems 
to  have  been  explored  with  sufficient  care  to  enable  us  to  affirm  that 
no  stairs  or  inclined  plane  led  to  its  summit,  and  without  these  it 
certainly  was  not  one  of  those  observatory  temples  before  alluded  to. 
Still  it  is  so  singular  to  have  one  monument,  and  one  only,  of  its  class, 
that  it  is  difficult  to  form  a  satisfactory  opinion  on  the  subject. 

It  stands  at  the  north-west  angle  of  the  mound,  and  measures  167 
ft.  each  way ;  its  base,  30  ft.  in  height,  is  composed  of  beautiful  stone 
masonry,  ornamented  by  buttresses  and  offsets,  above  which  the  wall 


81.    Sacred  Symbolic  Tree  of  the  Assyrians.    (From  Lord  Aberdeen's  Black  Stone.; 


was  continued  i)crpendicularly  in  brickwork.  In  the  centre  of  the 
building,  and  on  the  level  of  the  base  or  terrace,  a  long  vaulted  gallery 
or  tunnel  was  discovered,  but  it  contained  no  clue  to  the  destination 
of  the  building. 

The  whole  now  rises  to  a  height  of  about  120  ft.  from  the  plain, 
and  is  composed  of  sun-dried  bricks,  with  courses  of  Kiln-burnt  bricks 
between  them,  at  certain  intervals  towards  the  summit,  which  render 
it  probable  that  it  originally  was  not  a  pyramid  in  the  usual  sense  of 
the  term,  but  a  square  tower,  rising  in  three  or  four  stories,  each  less 
than  the  lower  one,  as  in  the  traditional  temple  of  Belus  at  Babylon, 
or  like  the  summit  of  the  obelisk  represented  in  the  woodcut  (No.  82), 
which  most  probably  is  a  monolithic  reproduction  of  such  a  sepulchral 
tower  as  this,  rather  than  an  obelisk  like  those  of  Egypt. 

Other  obelisks  have  since  been  discovered,  some  of  which  look 
even  more  like  miniature  models  of  structural  buildings  than  this 
one  does. 

Till  further  information  is  obtained,  it  will  hardly  be  possible  to 
say  much  that  is  satisfactory  with  regard  to  either  the  tombs,  temples, 
or  minor  antiquities  of  the  Assyrian  people.  Their  architecture  was 
essentially  Palatial  —  as  that  of  the  Greeks  was  Templar  —  and  to  that 
alone  our  remarks  might  almost  be  confined.    Fortunately,  however, 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  III. 


ASSYRIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


187 


sculpture  was  another  art  to  which  they  were  specially  addicted,  and 
to  their  passion  for  this  we  owe  most  of  our  knowledge  of  their  man- 
ners and  customs.  To  this  art  also  we  are  indebted  for  our  ability  to 
restore  many  details  of  their  palaces  and  buildings,  which  without  its 
aid  would  have  been  altogether  unintelligible. 

Judged  by  the  same  rules  of  criticism  which  we  apply  to  Classic  or 


82.   Obelisk  of  Divanubara.    (From  Layard's  "  Nineveh.") 


Mediaeval  art,  the  architecture  of  the  Assyrians  must,  it  is  feared, 
rank  very  low.  But  for  gorgeous  barbaric  splendor  of  effect  it  seems 
difficult  to  imagine  anything  that  could  well  have  been  grander  or 
more  imposing  than  the  palaces  of  Nineveh  must  have  been  when 
entire  and  filled  with  the  state  and  magnificence  of  the  monarchs  of 
the  Assyrian  empire. 


188 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
PERSIA. 


CHRONOLOGY. 


DATES. 

Cyrus  founds  Passargadse  .   .   ,   .   b.  c.  560 

Cambyses'  buildings  at  ditto  525 

Darius  builds  palace  at  Persepolis  .  .  521 
Xerxes  builds  halls  at  Persepolis  and  Susa  485 
Artaxerxes  I.onginianus  465 


DATES. 

Darius  Nothus  b.  c.  424 

Artaxerxes  Mnemon  repairs  buildings 

at  Persepolis  and  Susa  405 

Dtstruction  of  Persian  Empire  by  Alex- 
ander  331 


THERE  still  remains  a  third  cha])ter  to  write  before  the  survey  of  the 
architecture  of  the  central  region  of  Asia  is  complete  —  before  in- 
deed a  great  deal  which  has  just  been  assumed  can  become  capable  of 
proof.  By  a  fortunate  accident  the  Persians  used  stone  where  the  Assy- 
rians used  only  wood,  and  consequently  many  details  of  their  architec- 
ture have  come  down  to  our  day  w^iich  would  otherwise  have  passed 
away  had  the  more  perishable  materials  of  their  predecessors  been 
made  use  of. 

Whatever  else  the  ancient  world  may  owe  to  the  learning  of  the 
Egyptians,  it  seems  certain  that  they  were  the  first  to  make  use  of 
stone  as  a  constructive  building  material.  As  before  mentioned,  the 
Egyptians  used  a  stone  proto-Doric  pillar  at  least  1000  years  before 
the  Greeks  or  the  Etruscans,  or  any  other  ancient  people  we  know 
of,  dreamt  of  such  a  thing.  The  Babylonians  and  Assyrians  never 
seem  to  have  used  stone  constructively,  except  as  the  revetment  of 
a  terrace  wall ;  and  it  was  not  till  after  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by 
Cambyses  that  we  find  any  Asiatic  nations  using  a  pillar  of  stone  in 
architecture,  or  doing  more  than  building  a  w^all,  or  heaping  mass  on 
mass  of  this  material  without  any  constructive  contrivance.  The 
Indians  first  learned  this  art  from  the  Bactrian  Greeks,  and  many 
civilized  Asiatic  nations  still  prefer  wood  for  their  palaces  and 
temples,  as  the  Assyrians  did,  and  only  use  stone  as  "a  heap."  It 
must  have  been  difticult,  however,  for  any  intelligent  people  to  visit 
the  wonderful  stone  temples  of  Thebes  and  Memphis  without  being 
struck  by  their  superior  magnificence  and  durability  ;  and  we  con- 
sequently find  the  Persians  on  their  return,  though  reproducing  their 
old  forms,  adopting  the  new  material,  which,  fortunately  for  them  and 
for  our  history,  was  found  in  abundance  in  the  neighborhood  of  their 
capitals. 


DK.  II.  ClI.  IV. 


PERSIvVN  ARCHITECTURE. 


189 


Even,  liowever,  on  the  most  cursory  inspection,  it  is  easy  to  see 
how  little  the  arts  of  the  Assyrians  were  changed  by  their  successors. 
The  winged  lions  and  bulls  that  adorn  the  portals  at  Persepolis  are 
practically  identical  with  those  of  Nineveh.  The  representations  of 
the  king  on  his  throne  with  his  attendants  are  so  similar  that  but 
for  the  locality  it  would  require  considerable  knowledge  to  discrimi- 
nate between  Sennacherib  and  Xerxes.  The  long  procession  of  tribute 
bearers  —  the  symbolical  animals  slain  by  the  king;  the  whole  orna- 
mentation, in  fact,  is  so  slightly  altered  from  what  existed  in  Assyria, 
that  we  are  startled  to  find  how  little  change  in  these  sculptures  the 
new  dynasty  had  introduced ;  and  if  this  is  the  case  with  them,  and 
their  position  and  arrangement  is  nearly  identical,  we  may  feel  ver} 
,    certain  that  the  .architecture  was  also  the  same. 

It  apj)ears,  at  first  sight,  to  have  been  otherwise;  but,  on  closer 
examination,  it  appears  quite  certain  that  this  even  is  due  more  to  the 
material  employed  than  to  any  alteration  in  form.  Something  may 
be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  buildings  we  now  find  on  the  platform  at 
Persepolis  may  have  been  dedicated  to  somewhat  different  purposes 
than  were  those  of  Nineveh ;  but  even  this  is  not  quite  clear.  If 
the  great  square  courts  of  the  Ninevite  palaces  were  roofed  over, 
as  Layard  suggested  —  and  as  probably  was  the  case  —  they  would 
exactly  represent  the  square  halls  of  Persepolis.  But  as  all  the 
intermediate  buildings  of  sun-dried  brick  have  been  washed  off  the 
bare  rock  by  the  winter  rains  of  Persia,  we  can  only  speculate  on 
what  they  might  have  been,  without  daring  to  lay  too  much  stress  on 
our  convictions. 

Persepolis. 

At  Nineveh,  as  we  have  seen,  all  the  pillars,  the  roofs,  and  the 
constructive  parts  of  the  building,  which  were  of  wood,  have  dis- 
appeared, and  left  nothing  but  the  massive  walls  which,  falling  and 
being  heaped  the  one  on  the  other,  have  buried  themselves  and  their 
ornaments  till  the  present  day.  At  Persepolis,  on  the  contrary,  the 
brick  walls,  being  thinner  and  exposed  on  the  bare  surface  of  the 
naked  rock,  have  been  washed  away  by  the  storms  and  rains  of  2000 
years,  leaving  only  the  skeletons  of  the  buildings.  In  the  rocky 
country  of  Persia,  however,  the  architect  fortunately  used  stone ;  and 
we  have  thus  at  Persepolis,  if  the  expression  may  be  used,  all  the 
bones  of  the  building,  but  Avithout  the  flesh ;  and  at  Nineveh,  the 
flesh,  but  without  the  bones  that  gave  it  form  and  substance. 

The  general  appearance  of  the  ruins,  as  they  at  present  stand,  will 
be  seen  from  the  woodcut  (No.  83). ^    The  principal  mass  in  the  fore- 


1  The  woodcuts  in  this  chapter,  except  i  ami  Coste's  "  Voyage  en  Perse,"  except 
the  restorations,  are  taken  from  Flandin  |  where  the  contrary  is  mentioned. 


190  HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE.  Part  I. 

ground  on  the  left  is  the  Propylaea  of  Xerxes,  and  behind  that  and  to 
the  right  stand  the  pillars  of  the  Chehil  Minar,  or  Great  Hall  of 
Xerxes.  Between  these  are  seen  in  the  distance  the  remains  of  the 
smaller  halls  of  Darius  and  Xerxes. 


The  most  striking  features  in  this  view  are  the  staircases  that  led  • 
from  the  plain  to  the  platform,  and  from  the  lower  level  to  that  on 


Bk.  II.  Ch  I\^ 


PERSEPOLIS. 


191 


which  the  great  hall  stood.  Indeed,  among  these  ruins,  nothing  is 
more  remarkable  than  these  great  flights  of  stej^s.  The  builders  of 
those  days  were,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  only  people  who  really 


understood  the  value  of  this  feature.  The  Egyptians  seem  wholly 
to  have  neglected  it  and  the  Greeks  to  have  cared  little  about  it ; 
but  it  was  not  so  at  Nineveh,  where,  so  far  we  can  understand 


192 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


from  the  indistinct  traces  left,  the  stairs  must  have  been  one  of  the 
most  important  parts  of  the  design.  But  they  were  so  situated  that 
they  were  not  buried  when  the  buildings  were  ruined,  and  conse- 
quently have  been  removed.  At  Jerusalem,  too,  we  read  that  when 
the  Queen  of  Sheba  saw  "the  ascent  by  which  Solomon  went  up  to 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  there  was  no  more  spirit  in  her."  Indeed,  in 
all  the  ancient  temples  and  palaces  of  this  district,  more  attention 
is  paid  to  this  feature  than  to  almost  any  other;  and  from  their 
favorable  situation  on  artificial  terraces,  the  builders  were  enabled 
to  apply  their  stairs  with  far  more  effect  than  any  others  in  ancient 
or  in  modern  times. 

The  lower  or  great  staircase  at  Persopolis  is  plain,  and  without  any 
sculpture,  but  is  built  of  the  most  massive  Cyclopean  masonry,  and  of 
great  width  and  very  easy  acclivity.  That  in  front  of  the  great  hall 
is  ornamented  with  sculpture  in  three  tiers,  representing  the  people  of 
the  land  bringing  presents  and  the  subject  nations  tribute,  to  lay  at 
the  feet  of  the  monarch,  combined  with  mythological  rejjresentations ; 
the  whole  bearing  a  very  considerable  resemblance  to  the  sculptures  on 
the  walls  of  the  Assyrian  palaces,  though  the  position  is  different.  The 
arrangement  of  these  stairs,  too,  is  peculiar,  none  of  tliem  being  at 
I'ight  angles  to  the  buildings  they  approach,  but  all  being  double, 
apparently  to  permit  of  processions  passing  the  tlirone,  situated  in  the 
porches  at  their  summit,  without  interrui)tion,  and  without  altering 
the  line  of  march.t 

One  of  these  flights,  leading  to  the  platform  of  Xerxes'  palace,  is 
shown  in  the  woodcut  (No.  84).  In  arrangement  it  is  like  the  stairs 
leading  to  the  great  terrace,  but  very  much  smaller,  and  is  profusely 
adorned  with  sculpture. 

The  principal  apartment  in  all  the  buildings  situated  on  the  plat- 
form is  a  central  square  hall,  the  floor  of  which  is  studded  with  pillars 
placed  equidistant  the  one  from  the  other.  The  smallest  have  4  pillars, 
the  next  16,  then  36,  and  one  has  100  pillars  on  its  floor;  but  to  avoid 
inventing  new  names,  we  may  call  them  respectively,  distyle,  tetrastyle» 
hexastyle,  and  decastyle  halls,  from  their  having  2,  4,  6,  or  10  pillars 
on  each  face  of  the  phalanx,  and  because  that  is  the  number  of  the 
pillars  in  their  porticoes  when  they  have  any. 

The  building  at  the  head  of  the  great  stairs  is  a  distyle  hall,  having 
4  pillars  supporting  its  roof.  On  each  side  of  the  first  public  entrance 
stands  a  human-headed  winged  bull,  so  nearly  identical  with  those 
found  in  Assyrian  palaces  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  their  having  the  same 
origin.  At  the  opposite  entrance  are  two  bulls,  without  wings,  but 
drawn  with  the  same  bold,  massive  proportions  which  distinguish  all 
the  sculptured  animals  in  the  palaces  of  Assyria  and  Persia.  The  other, 
or  palace  entrance,  is  destroyed,  the  foundation  only  remaining;  but 
this,  with  the  foundations  of  the  walls,  leaves  no  room  to  doubt  that 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IV. 


PEKSEPOLIS. 


193 


the  annexed  woodcut  (No.  85)  is  a  true  representation  of  its  ground- 
plan. i  Nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  this  is  one  of  those  buildings  so 
frequently  mentioned  in  the  Bible  as  a  "  gate," 
not  the  door  of  a  city  or  buildings,  but  a  gate 
of  justice,  such  as  that  where  Mordecai  sat  at 
Snsa  —  where  Abraham  bought  his  field  — where 
Ruth's  marriage  was  judged  of  —  and,  indeed, 
where  public  business  was  generally  transacted. 

There  are  three  other  distyle  halls  or  gates 
on  the  platform :  one  to  the  westward  of  tliis, 
very  much  ruined  ;  one  in  the  centre  of  the  whole  85.  rropyiaa.  «<;aie  looft. 
group,  which  seems  to  have  had  external  i)or- 

ticoes ;  and  a  third  on  the  platform  in  front  of  the  palace  of  Xerxes. 

There  are  two  tetrastyle  halls,  one  of  which,  erected  by  Darius 
(Woodcut  No.  86),  is  the  most  interesting  of  the  smaller  buildings  on 
the  terrace.     It  is  the  only  building  that  faces  the  south,  and  is 


).    Palace  of  Darius.    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


approached  by  a  flight  of  steps,  represented  with  the  whole  facade  of  the 
palace  as  it  now  stands  in  the  woodcut  (No.  87).  These  steps  led  to  a 
tetrastyle  porch,  two  ranges  in  depth,  wdiich  opened  into  the  central 
hall  with  its  16  columns,  around  which  v/ere  arranged  smaller  rooms 
or  cells,  either  for  the  occupation  of  the  king,  if  it  was  a  palace,  or  of 
the  priests  if  a  temple.  In  the  western  side  a  staircase  and  doorway 
were  added,  somewhat  unsymmetrically,  by  Artaxerxes. 

These  remains  would  hardly  suffice  to  enable  us  to  restore  the  ex- 
ternal appearance  of  the  palace  ;  but  fortunately  the  same  king  who 
built  the  palace  for  his  use  on  this  mound,  repeated  it  in  the  rock  as 


^  It  is  curious  tliat  neither  Ker  Por- 
ter, nor  Texier,  nor  Flandin  and  Coste, 
though  measuring  this  building  on  the 

VOL.  T. — 13 


spot,  could  make  out  its  plan.  Yet 
nothing  can  well  be  more  certain,  once 
it  is  pointed  out. 


194 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


an  "eternal  dwelling"  for  himself  after  death.  The  tomb  known  as 
that  of  Darius  at  Naksh-i-Rustam  (Woodcut  88),  is  an  exact  reproduc- 
tion, not  only  of  the  architectural  features  of  the  palace,  but  to  the 


same  scale,  and  in  every  respect  so  similar,  that  it  seems  impossible  to 
doubt  but  that  the  one  was  intended  as  a  literal  copy  of  the  other. 
Assuming  it  to  be  so,  we  learn  what  kind  of  cornice  rested  on  the 
double  bull  capitals.    And  what  is  still  more  interesting,  we  obtain  a 


Bk.  11.  Ch.  IV. 


PERSEPOLIS. 


195 


196 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


representation  of  a  prayer  platform,  which  we  have  described  else- 
where as  a  Talar/  but  the 
meaning  of  which  we  should 
hardly  know  but  for  this 
representation. 

The  other  tetrastyle  hall 
is  similar  to  this,  but  plainer 
and  somewhat  smaller. 

Turning  from  these  to 
the  hexastyle  halls,  the 
smallest  but  most  perfect 
(Woodcut  No.  89)  is  that 
standing  on  the  southern 
edge  of  the  upper  platform, 
the  inscriptions  on  which 
certainly  prove  it  to  have 
been  built  by  Xerxes. 

The  i^latform  on  which 
it  stands  is  approached  by 
two  flights  of  steps,  that 
on  the  east  being  the  one  represented  in  the  Woodcut  No.  84,  —  there 


I.   Palace  of  Xerxes.   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


90.  Restored  Plan  of  Great  Hall  of  Xerxes  at  Persepolis.   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


1  ''Palaces  of  Nineveh  and  Persepolis  Restored,"  p.  126. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IV. 


PERSEPOLIS. 


197 


are  also  indications  of  a  tetrastyle  hall,  or  gate,  having  existed  on  its 
summit,  —  while  that  to  the  west  is  much  simpler.  The  hall  itself 
had  a  portico  of  twelve 
columns,  and  on  each 
side  a  range  of  smaller 
apartments,  the  two 
principal  of  which  had 
their  roofs  supported  by 
four  pillars  each. 

The  building  is  one 
of  great  beauty  in  itself, 
but  its  greatest  value 
is  that  it  enables  us  to 
understand  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  great  Hall 
of  Xerxes  —  the  Cheliil 
Minar  —  the  most  splen- 
did building  of  which 
any  remains  exist  in 
this  part  of  the  world. 
From  the  annexed  plan 
(Woodcut  No.  90)  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  whole 
central  part  is  identical 
with  that  of  the  building 
just  described.  There 
can  be  no  possible  doubt 
about  this,  as  the  bases 
of  all  the  72  columns 
still  exist  in  situ,  as 
well  as  the  jambs  of 
the  two  principal  door- 
ways, which  are  shaded 
darker  in  the  plan.  The 
side  and  rear  walls  only 
are  restored  from  the 
preceding  illustration. 
The  only  difference  is  that,  instead  of  the  two  distyle  halls  on  either 
side,  this  had  hexastyle  porticoes  of  twelve  pillars  each,  similar  to  that 
in  front ;  the  angles  between  which  were,  in  all  probability,  filled  up 
with  rooms  or  buildings,  as  suggested  in  the  plan.i 


91.  Pillar  of  Western  Portico.   92.  Pillar  of  Northern  Portico. 


1  It  is  very  strange  that  this  similarity, 
like  the  plan  of  the  square  halls,  should 
hitherto  have  escaped  observation.  Had 
any  one  looked  at  the  matter  as  a  whole, 


we  should  have  been  spared  some  restora- 
tions which  are  too  absurd  even  to  merit 
exposure. 


198 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


Two  orders  of  pillars  were  employed  to  support  the  roof  of  this 
splendid  building ;  one,  represented  in  Woodcut  No.  91,  with  double 
bull  capitals,  like  those  of  the  porch  of  Darius's  palace.  They  are 
67  ft.  4  in.  in  height  from  the  floor  to  the  back  of  the  bull's  neck,  or 
64  ft.  to  the  under  side  of  the  beam  that  lay  between  the  bulls.  The 
other  order,  with  the  Ionic  volutes  (Woodcut  No.  92),  was  also  that 
employed  in  the  northern  portico,  and  generally  in  the  interior 
throughout  this  building,  and  is  nearly  identical,  as  far  as  the  base 
and  shaft  are  concerned,  except  in  the  height  of  the  latter.  The 
capital,  however,  differs  widely,  and  is  16  ft.  6  in.  in  height,  making 
an  order  altogether  9  ft.  7  in.  less  than  that  used  externally,  the 
difference  being  made  up  by  brackets  of  wood,  which  supported  the 
beams  of  the  roof,  internally  at  least,  though  externally  the  double 
bull  capital  probably  surmounted  these  Ionic-like  scrolls. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  these  halls  also  had  platforms  or 
talars  like  the  smaller  halls,  which  would  also  serve  to  shelter  any 
opening  in  the  roof ;  though  in  the  present  instance  it  seems  very 
doubtful  if  any  such  openings  or  skylights  existed,  or  were  indeed 
required. 

Thus  arranged,  the  section  of  the  buildings  would  be  as  shown  in 
the  woodcut  (No.  93)  ;  and  presuming  ihis  structure  to  have  been 
sculptured  and  painted  as  richly  as  oth(  [-s  of  its  age  and  class,  which 


93.   Restored  Sectiou  of  Hall  of  Xerxes.    Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


It  no  doubt  was,  it  must  have  been  not  only  one  of  the  largest,  but 
one  of  the  most  splendid  buildings  of  antiquity.  In  plan  it  was  a 
rectangle  of  about  300  ft.  by  350,  and  consequently  covered  105,000 
square  ft. ;  it  was  thus  larger  than  the  hypostyle  hall  at  Karnac,  or 
any  of  the  largest  temples  of  Greece  or  Rome.  It  is  larger,  too,  than 
any  mediaeval  cathedral  except  that  of  Milan  ;  and  although  it  has 
neither  the  stone  roof  of  a  cathedral,  nor  the  massiveness  of  an 
Egyptian  building,  still  its  size  and  proportions,  combined  with  the 
lightness  of  its  architecture  and  the  beauty  of  its  decorations,  must 
have  made  it  one  of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  ever  erected.  Both 
in  design  and  proportion  it  far  surpassed  those  of  Assyria,  and  though 
possessing  much  of  detail  or  ornament  that  was  almost  identical,  its 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IV. 


PERSEPOLIS. 


199 


arratigement  and  proportions  were  so  superior  in  every  respect  that 
no  similar  building  in  Nineveh  can  be  compared  with  this  —  the 
great  architectural  creation  of  the  Persian  Empire. 

There  is  no  octastyle  hall  at  Persepolis,  and  only  one  decastyle. 
In  this  instance  the  hall  itself  measured  about  225  ft.  each  way,  and 
had  100  pillars  on  its  floor ;  still  it  was  low  in  proportion,  devoid  of 
lateral  porticoes,  and  consequently  by  no  means  so  magnificent  a 
building  as  the  great  hall  of  Xerxes.  The  portico  in  front  was  two 
ranges  in  depth,  and  flanked  by  gigantic  bulls ;  but  as  the  whole  height 
was  barely  25  ft.,  it  could  not  have  been  a  remarkable  or  pleasing 
object.  The  sculptures  on  the  jambs  of  the  doorways  are  the  most 
interesting  part  of  this  building;  these  represent  the  king  on  his 
throne,  and  various  mythological  subjects,  on  a  more  extensive  scale 
than  those  similarly  situated  in  the  other  buildings  of  the  platform. 
Indeed,  it  is  probable  that  in  the  other  palaces  these  subjects  were 
painted  on  the  internal  walls,  as  was  done  in  those  Assyrian  halls 
which  were  not  reveted  with  slabs.  With  an  appropriateness  that 
cannot  be  too  much  praised,  sculpture  seems  always  to  have  been  used 
in  parts  of  the  building  exposed  to  atmospheric  injury,  and,  because  of 
the  exposure,  to  have  been  employed  there  in  preference  to  painting. 

Besides  these  buildings  on  the  platform,  there  are  the  remains  of 
several  others  on  the  plain,  and  within  the  precincts  of  the  town  of 
Istakr  is  a  building  still  called  the  Hareem  of  Jemsheed,  and  which 
may  in  reality  have  been  the  residence  of  the  AchaBrjienian  kings.  It 
certainly  belongs  to  their  age,  and  from  the  irregularity  of  its  form, 
and  its  general  proportions,  looks  very  much  more  like  a  residence, 
properly  so  called,  than  any  of  the  monumental  erections  on  tlie 
neighboring  platform  of  Persepolis. 

Looked  at  from  an  architectural  point  of  view,  the  principal  defect 
of  the  interior  arrangement,  especially  of  the  smaller  Persepolitan 
halls,  is  that  their  floor  is  unnecessarily  crowded  with  pillars.  As 
these  had  to  support  only  a  wooden  roof,  some  might  have  been  dis- 
pensed with,  or  a  more  artistic  arrangement  have  been  adopted.  This 
would  no  doubt  have  been  done  but  for  the  influence  of  the  Assyrian 
style,  in  which  frequent  pillars  were  indispensable  to  support  the 
heavy,  flat  roofs,  and  as  they  were  of  timber,  a  greater  number  were 
required  than  would  have  been  the  case  if  of  stone.  Those  of  Avood 
also  looked  less  cumbersome  and  less  in  the  way  than  those  made  of 
more  durable  materials. 

It  is  also  a  defect  that  the  capitals  of  the  pillars  retain  at  Perse- 
polis so  much  of  the  form  of  their  wooden  prototypes.  In  wood,  such 
capitals  as  those  depicted  (Woodcuts  No.  92  or  No.  94),  would  not  be 
offensive.  In  stone  they  are  clumsy ;  and  the  Greeks  showed  their 
usual  discrimination  when  they  cut  away  all  the  volutes  but  one  pair, 
and  adopted  a  stone  construction  for  the  entablature. 


200 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  I. 


Notwithstanding  these  defects,  tliere  is  a  grandeur  of  conceiftio'n 
a1)oiit  the  Persepolitan  halls  which  entitles  them  to  our  admiration. 
Their  greatest  point  of  interest  to  the  architectural  student  consists 
probably  in  their  being  examples  of  a  transition  from  a  wooden  to  a 
stone  style  of  art,  and  in  their  enabling  us  to  complete  and  under- 
stand that  art  which  had  been  elaborated  in  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates  during  previous  centuries,  but  which,  owing  to  the  perish- 
able nature  of  the  materials  employed,  has  almost  wholly  passed 
away,  without  leaving  sufficient  traces  to  enable  all  its  characteristics 
to  be  understood  or  restored. 


SUSA. 

The  explorations  of  Mr.  Loftus  at  Susa,  in  1850,  have  laid  bare  the 
f<Mindntions  of  a  palace  almost  identical  both  in  plan  and  dimensions 
with  the  Chehil  Minar  at  Persepolis.    It  is,  how- 
ever, much  more  completely  ruined,  the  place 
having  long  been  used  as  a  quarry  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  neighboring  plains,  so  that  now  only 
the  bases  of  the  pillarc  ..c^mali:  in  situ,  with  frag- 
^|LjAi4_|jv<^        ments  of  the  shafts  and  capitals  strewed  every- 
ii  o^LiLiJMliLJ        where  about,  but  no  walls  or  doorways,  or  other 
architectural  members  to  enable  us  to  supply 
wliat  is  wanting  at  Perseiwlis. 

The  l)ases  seem  to  be  of  the  same  form  and 
style  as  those  at  Persepolis,  but  rather  more  richly 
carved.  The  capitals  are  also  more  elaborate, 
but  more  essentially  wooden  in  their  form,  and 
betray  their  origin  not  only  in  the  exuberance  of 
their  carving,  but  also  in  the  disproportion  of  the 
capital  to  the  shaft.  In  wood  so  large  a  capital 
does  not  look  disproportioned  to  so  slender  a 
shaft ;  in  stone  the  effect  is  most  disagreeable, 
and  was  to  a  certain  extent  remedied  at  Perse- 
polis so  soon  as  the  result  was  perceived.  Whether 
the  Persians  would  ever  have  been  able  to  shake 
off  entirely  the  wooden  original  is  not  quite  (dear, 
but  the  Greeks,  being  bound  by  no  such  associa- 
tion, cut  the  knot  at  once,  and  saved  them  the  trouble. 

Inscriptions  round  the  bases  of  the  pillars  inform  us  that  the  hall 
was  erected  by  Darius  and  Xerxes,  but  repaired  or  restored  by  Arta- 
xerxes  Mnemon,  who  added  the  inscriptions.  In  all  probability  it  is 
the  identical  hall  in  which  the  scenes  described  in  the  Book  of  Es- 
ther took  place.  The  foundations  of  other  parts  of  this  palace  might 
be  no  doubt  laid  bare  by  further  excavations ;  but  the  ruin  of  the 
place  has  been  so  complete,  that  little  of  interest  in  an  architectural 


y-l.  Kestored  Elevation  of ' 
I'apitalatSusa.  (From  Loftus.) 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IV. 


PASSARGAD^. 


201 


point  of  view  can  be  looked  for.  Below  these  Persian  ruins  are 
probably  buried  the  remains  of  long-preceding  dynasties,  which  deeper 
excavations  would  lay  bare,  and  Avhich  would,  in  all  probability,  afford 
a  rich  harvest  to  the  historical  explorer. 


Passargad^. 

In  their  present  state  the  remains  at  Passargadse  are,  perhaps, 
more  interesting  to  the  antiquary  than  to  the  architect,  the  palaces  on 
the  plain  being  so  ruined  that  their  architectural  arrangements  cannot 
be  understood  or  restored. 

On  the  side  of  a  hill  overlooking  the  plain  is  a  platform  of  masonry 
(Woodcut  No.  95)  which  originally  supported  either  a  temple  or  fire- 
altar,  but  this  has  now  entirely  disappeared,  and  the  structure  is  only 
remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  its  masonry  and  the  large  dimensions  of 
the  stones  with  which  it  is  built.  These  are  bevelled  (Woodcut  No.  96), 
not  only  at  their  joints,  but  often  on  their  faces,  with  the  same  flat 


95.   Plan  of  Platform  at  Passargadse.  96.    Elevation  of  Platform  at  Passargiidfe. 


sinking  as  is  found  in  all  the  Jewish  works  at  Jerusalem,  and 
sometimes  in  Greek  buildings  of  the  best  age.  Thus  an  ornament  of 
great  beauty  and  elegance  is  formed  out  of  what  would  otherwise  be 
merely  a  plain  mass  of  masonry. 

On  the  plain  are  the  foundations  of  several  large  buildings,  probably 
palaces,  temples,  or  basilicas,  but  all  so  completely  destroyed  that  it  is 
now  impossible  to  say  what  their  original  form  or  destination  may 
have  been.  One  pillar  only  is  now  standing —  a  plain  shaft,  without 
capital  or  base,  and  more  like  an  Indian  Idt  than  a  column  destined  to 
support  a  roof. 


202 


HISTORY  OF  AECHITECTURE. 


Past  I. 


Fire  Temples. 

Near  the  town  of  Istakr,  and  opposite  the  tombs  of  Naksh-i- 
Rustam,  stands  a  small  tower-like  building,  represented  in  Woodcut 
Ko.  97.    The  lower  part  is  solid ;  the  upper  contains  a  small  square 
^  apartment  roofed  by  two  great  flat  slabs  of 

stone.  Access  to  this  chamber  is  obtained 
by  a  doorway  situated  at  sortie  distance 
from  the  ground. 

Botli  the  traditions  of  the  place  and 
the  knowledge  we  have  of  their  religious 
])ractices,  point  to  this  as  one  of  the  fire 
tem})les  of  the  ancient  Persians.  Its  roof  is 
internally  still  black,  probably  with  the 
smoke  of  ancient  fires,  and  though  simple 
and  insignificant  as  an  architectural  monu- 
ment, it  is  interesting  as  the  only  form  of 
a  temple  apart  from  regal  state  which  the  ancient  Persians  possessed. 

Another,  almost  identical  in  form,  is  found  at  Passargadae.  The 
celebrated  Kaabah  at  Mecca,  to  which  all  the  Moslem  world  now 
bow  in  prayer,  is  probably  a  third,  while  the  temple  represented  in 
Woodcut  No.  81,  from  Lord  Aberdeen's  Black  Stone,  may  be  a  repre- 
sentation of  such  a  temple  as  these,  with  its  curtains  and  paraphernalia 
complete.  It  is  too  evident,  however,  that  the  Persians  were  not  a 
tem])le-building  people,  and  the  exami)lcs  that  have  come  down  to  our 
lime  are  too  few  and  too  insignificant  on  which  to  found  any  theory. 


Kaabah  at  Istakr.  No  scale. 


Tombs. 

Little  requires  to  be  said  of  the  tombs  of  the  Persians ;  that  of 
Darius  is  represented  in  plan  and  elevation  in  Woodcut  No.  88,  and,  as 
before  remarked,  it  is  a  literal  copy  on  the  rock  of  the  fa9ade  of  his 
palace.  Internally,  three  small  cells  contained  the  remains  of  the 
king,  with  those  of  the  persons,  probably  his  favorite  wife  or  wives, 
for  whom  he  had  destined  that  honor.  Close  by  this,  at  Naksh-i- 
Rustam,  are  four  others,  and  in  the  rock  behind  Persepolis  are  three 
more  tombs  of  the  Achaemenian  kings,  identical  with  these  in  all 
essential  respects;  but  still  with  such  a  difference  in  workmanship 
and  detail  as  would  enable  a  careful  architectural  student  easily  to 
detect  a  sequence,  and  so  affix  to  each,  approximately  at  least,  the  name 
of  the  king  whose  sepulchre  it  is.  Unfortunately  that  of  Darius  only 
is  inscribed  ;  but  his  position  in  the  dynasty  is  so  well  known  that, 
starting  from  that  point,  it  would  be  easy  to  assign  each  of  these  tombs 
to  the  king  who  excavated  it  for  his  own  resting-place. 

Although  these  tombs  of  the  Achaemenians  are  not  remarkable  for 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IV. 


PERSIAN  AUCHITECTURE. 


203 


their  magnificence,  they  are  interesting  in  an  architectural  point  of 
view,  inasmuch  as  —  as  pointed  out  above  —  they  enable  us  to  restore 
their  structural  buildings  in  a  manner  we  would  hardly  be  able  to  do 
without  their  assistance.  They  are  also  interesting  ethnographically, 
as  indicating  that  these  kings  of  Persia  were  far  from  being  the  pure 
Aryans  the  language  of  their  inscriptions  would  lead  us  to  suspect  they 
might  be.  There  are  not,  so  far  as  is  yet  known,  any  series  of  rock-cut 
sepulchres  belonging  to  any  dynasty  of  pure  Aryan  blood.  Nor  would 
any  king  of  Semitic  race  attempt  anything  of  the  sort.  Their  evidence, 
therefore,  as  far  as  it  goes,  and  it  is  tolerably  distinct,  seems  to  prove 
that  the  Achaemenian  kings  were  of  Turanian  race.  They  only,  and 
not  any  of  their  subjects  in  Persia,  seem  to  have  adopted  this  style 
of  grandeur,  which,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  was  common  in  Asia 
Minor,  and  other  countries  subject  to  their  sway,  but  who  were  of  a 
different  race  altogether. 


204 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTUKE. 


Part  I. 


CHAPTER  V. 
INVENTION  OF  THE  ARCH. 

BEFORE  leaving  this  early  section  of  architecture,  it  may  be  as  well 
briefly  to  refer  to  the  invention  of  the  true  arch,  regarding  which 
considerable  misconception  still  exists. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  Egyptians  were  ignorant  of  the 
true  principles  of  the  arch,  and  only  employed  two  stones  meeting  one 
another  at  a  certain  angle  in  the  centre  when  they  wished  to  cover 
a  larger  space  than  could  conveniently  be  done  by  a  single  block., 
Tliis,  however,  seems  to  be  a  mistake,  as  many  of  the  tombs  and 
chambers  around  the  pyramids  and  the  temples  at  Thebes  are  roofed 
by  stone  and  brick  arches  of  a  semicircular  form,  and  perfect  in  every 
respect  as  far  as  the  principles  of  the  arch  are  concerned. 

Several  of  tliese  have  been  drawn  by  Lepsius,  and  are  engraved  in 
^is  work;  but,  as  no  text  accompanies  them,  and  the  drawings  are  not 
on  a  sufficient  scale  to  make  out  the  hieroglyphics,  where  any  exist, 
their  date  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  Consequently  these  exam])les 
cannot  yet  be  used  as  the  foundation  of  any  argument  on  the  subject, 
though  the  curved  form  of  the  roofs  in  the  Third  Pyramid  would  alone 
be  suflicient  to  render  it  more  than  probable  that  during  the  period  of 
the  4th  dynasty  the  Egyptians  w^ere  familiar  Avith  this  expedient. 

At  Beni  Hassan,  during  the  time  of  the  12th  dynasty,  curvilinear 
forms  reappear  in  the  roofs  (Woodcut  No  15),  used  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  render  it  almost  certain  that  they  are  copied  from  roofs  of  arcuate 
construction.  Behind  the  Rhamession  at  Thebes  there  are  a  series  of 
arches  in  brick,  which  seem  undoubtedly  to  belong  to  the  same  age  as 
the  building  itself ;  and  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  mentions  a  tomb  at  Thebes, 
the  roof  of  which  is  vaulted  with  bricks,  and  still  bears  the  name  of 
Amenoph  I.,  of  the  18th  dynasty.^ 

The  temple  at  Abydos,  erected  by  Rhameses  II.,  shows  the  same 
peculiarity  as  the  tombs  at  Beni  Hassan,  of  a  flat  segmental  arch 
throwm  across  between  the  stone  architraves.  In  this  instance  it  is 
also  a  copy  in  stone,  but  such  as  must  have  been  originally  copied  from 
one  of  brick  construction.  There  is  also  every  reason  to  believe  that 
the  apartments  of  the  little  pavilion  at  Medinet  Habou  (Woodcuts 

1  Wilkinson's  "  Egypt  and  Thebes,"  pp.  81  and  126. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  V. 


INVENTION  OF  THE  ARCH. 


205 


Nos.  32  and  33)  were  covered  with  semicircular  vaults,  though  these 
have  now  disappeared. ^ 

In  Ethiopia  Mr.  Hoskins  found  stone  arches  vaulting  the  roofs  of 
the  porches  to  the  pyramids,  perfect  in  construc- 
tion, and,  what  is  still  more  singular,  showing  both 
circular  and  pointed  forms  {ante^  p.  141).  These, 
as  before  remarked,  are  probably  of  the  time  of 
Tirhakah,  or  at  all  events  not  earlier  than  the  age 
of  Solomon,  nor  later  than  that  of  Cambyses. 

In  the  age  of  Psammeticus  we  have  several 
stone  arches  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  pyra- 
mids ;  one,  in  a  tomb  at  Saccara,  has  been  fre- 
quently drawn ;  but  one  of  the  most  instructive  98.  section  of  Tomb 
is  that^  in  a  tomb  discovered  by  Colonel  Campbell        Pyramids  of  Gizeh. 
(Woodcut  No.  98),  showing  a  very  primitive  form  of  an  arch  com- 
posed of  3  stones  only,  and  above  which  is  another  arch  of  regular  con- 
struction of  4  courses. 
In   his   researches  at 
Nimroud,  Layard  dis- 
covered vaulted  drains 
and  chambers  below  the 
north-west  and  south- 
east edifices  which  were 
consequently  as  old  as 
the  8th  or  9th  century 
before  our  era,  and  con- 
temporary with  those  in 
the  pyramids  of  Meroe. 
They  were  of  both  cir- 
cular and  pointed  forms, 
and   built  apparently 
with  great  care  and  at- 
tention to  the  principles 
of  the  arch  (Woodcut 
Ko.  99). 

The  great  discovery 
of  this  class  is  that  of 
the  city  gates  at  Khors- 
abad,  which,  as  men- 
tioned at  p.  175,  were 
spanned  by  arches  of 
semicircular  form,  so  perfect  both  in  construction  and  in  the  mode  in 
which  they  were  ornamented,  as  to  prove  that  in  the  time  of  Sargon 


Vaulted  Drain  beneath  the  South-east  Palace  at 
Nimroud. 


Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Egyptians,"  vol.  iii.  p.  263. 


206 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I 


100.   Arch  at  Der  el  Baliri.  (Lepsius.) 


the  arch  was  a  usual  and  well-understood  building  expedient,  and  one 
consequently  which  we  may  fairly  assume  to  have  been  long  in  use. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  have  in  the  temple  at  Der  el  Bahri  in 

Thebes,  built  by  Thothmes  III.,  a 
curious  example  of  the  retention  of 
the  old  form,  when  at  first  sight  it 
would  appear  as  though  the  true 
arch  would  have  been  a  more  cor- 
rect expedient.  In  this  example, 
the  lower  arch  is  composed  of 
stones  bracketing  forward  horizon- 
tally, though  the  form  of  the  arch 
is  semicircular ;  and  above  this  is  a 
discharging  arch  of  two  stones  used 
as  in  the  Pyramids.  The  upper 
arch  is  so  arranged  as  to  relieve  the 
crown  of  the  lower  —  which  is  its 
weakest  jiart  —  of  all  weight,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  throw  the  whole  pressure  on  the  outer  ends  of  the 
arcli  stones,  exactly  where  it  is  wanted.  The  whole  thus  becomes 
constructively  perfect,  though  it  is  a  more  expensive  way  of  attaining 
the  end  desired  than  by  an  arch. 

The  truth  seems  to  be,  the  Egyptians  had  not  at  this  age  invented 
voussoirs  deeper  in  the  direction  of  the  radii  of  the  arch  than  in  that 
of  its  perimeter ;  and  the  arch  with  them  was  consequently  not 
generally  an  appropriate  mode  of  roofing.  It  was  the  Romans  with 
their  tiles  who  first  really  understood  the  true  employment  of  the 
arch. 

So  far  as  we  can  now  understand  from  the  discoveries  that  have 
been  made,  it  seems  that  the  Assyrians  used  the  pointed  arch  for 
tunnels,  aqueducts,  and  generally  for  underground  work  where  they 
feared  great  superincumbent  pressure  on  the  apex,  and  the  round 
arch  above-ground,  where  that  was  not  to  be  dreaded ;  and  in  this 
they  probably  showed  more  science  and  discrimination  than  we  do  in 
such  works. 

In  Europe  the  oldest  arch  is  probably  that  of  Cloaca  Maxima  at 
Rome,  constructed  under  the  early  kings.  It 
is  of  stone,  in  3  rims,  and  shows  as  perfect  a 
knowledge  of  the  principle  as  any  subsequent 
example.  Its  lasting  uninjured  to  the  pres- 
ent day  proves  how  well  the  art  was  then 
understood,  and,  by  inference,  how  long  it 
must  have  been  practised  before  reaching 
Rome.  Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in.  tjiat  degree  of  perfection. 
From  all  this  it  becomes  almost  certain  that  the  arch  was  used  as 


Arch  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima, 
in. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  V. 


INVENTION  OF  TIIE  ARCH. 


207 


early  as  the  times  of  the  pyramid-builders  of  the  4th  dynasty,  and  was 
copied  in  the  tombs  of  Beni  Hassan  in  the  12th  ;  though  it  may  be 
that  the  earliest  existing  example  cannot  be  dated  further  back  than 
the  first  kings  of  the  18th  dynasty ;  from  that  time,  however,  tliere 
can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  currently  used,  not  only  in  Egypt,  but 
also  in  Ethiopia  and  Assyria. 

It  would,  indeed,  be  more  difficult  to  account  for  the  fact  of  such 
perfect  builders  as  the  Egyptians  being  ignorant  of  the  arch  if  such 
were  the  case ;  though,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  easy  to  understand  why 
they  should  use  it  so  sparingly  as  they  did  in  their  monumental 
erections. 

Even  in  the  simplest  arch,  that  formed  of  only  two  stones,  such  as 
is  frequently  found  in  the  pyramids,  and  over  the  highest  chamber 
[Woodcut  No.  7),  it  will  be  evident  that  any  weight  placed  on  the 
apex  has  a  tendency  to  lower  the  summit,  and  press  the  lower  ends  of 
the  stones  outwards.  Where  there  was  the  whole  mass  of  the  pyramid 
to  abut  against,  this  was  of  no  consequence,  but  in  a  slighter  building 
it  would  have  thrust  the  walls  apart,  and  brought  on  inevitable 
ruin. 

The  introduction  of  a  third  stone,  as  in  the  arch  (Woodcut  No.  98), 
hardly  remedied  this  at  all,  the  central  stone  acting  like  a  wedge  to 
thrust  the  two  others  apart ; 


and  even  the  introduction  of 
2  more  stones,  making  5  as 
in  Woodcut  No.  102,  only  dis- 
tributed the  pressure  without 

T   .        ^,       T   p    ^  1  102.  Arches  in  the  Pyramids  at  Meroe.  (From  Hoskins.) 

remedymg  the  detect ;  and 

without  the  most  perfect  masonry  every  additional  joint  was  only  an 
additional  source  of  weakness. 

This  has  been  felt  by  the  architects  of  all  ages  and  in  all  countries: 
still  the  advantage  of  being  able  to  cover  large  spaces  with  small 
stones  or  bricks  is  so  great,  that  many  have  been  willing  to  run  the 
risk  ;  and  all  the  ingenuity  of  the  Gothic  architects  of  the  Middle  Ages 
was  applied  to  overcoming  the  diflSculty.  But  even  the  best  of  their 
buildings  are  unstable  from  this  cause,  and  require  constant  care  and 
attention  to  keep  them  from  falling. 

The  Indian  architects  have  fallen  into  the  other  extreme,  refusing 
to  use  the  arch  under  any  circumstances,  and  preferring  the  smallest 
dimensions  and  the  most  crowded  interiors,  to  adopting  what  they 
consider  so  destructive  an  expedient.  As  mentioned  in  the  Introduc- 
tion (page  22),  their  theory  is  that  "an  arch  never  sleeps,"  and  is  con- 
stantly tending  to  tear  a  building  to  pieces ;  and,  where  aided  by 
earthquakes  and  the  roots  of  trees,  there  is  only  too  much  truth  in 
their  belief. 

The  Egyptians  seem  to  have  followed  a  middle  course,  using  arches 


208 


HISTORY  OF  AECHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


either  in  tombs,  where  the  rock  formed  an  immovable  abutment ;  or 
in  pyramids  and  buildings,  where  the  mass  immensely  overpowered 
the  thrust ;  or  underground,  where  the  superincumbent  earth  prevented 
movement. 

They  seem  also  to  have  used  flat  segmental  arches  of  brickwork 
between  the  rows  of  massive  architraves  which  they  placed  on  their 
pillars ;  and  as  all  these  abutted  one  another,  like  the  arches  of  a 
bridge,  except  the  external  ones,  which  were  sufficiently  supported  by 
the  massive  walls,  the  mode  of  construction  was  a  sound  one.  This  is 
exactly  that  which  we  have  re-introduced  during  the  last  30  years,  in 
consequence  of  the  application  of  cast-iron  beams,  between  which  flat 
segmental  arches  of  brick  are  thrown,  when  we  desire  to  introduce 
a  more  solid  and  fire-proof  construction  than  is  possible  with  wood 
only. 

In  their  use  of  the  arch,  as  in  everything  else,  the  building  science 
of  the  Egyptians  seems  to  have  been  governed  by  the  soundest  prin_ 
ciples  and  the  most  perfect  knowledge  of  what  was  judicious  and 
expedient,  and  what  should  be  avoided.  Many  of  their  smaller  edifices 
have  no  doubt  perished  from  the  scarcity  of  wood  forcing  the  builders 
to  employ  brick  arches,  but  they  wisely  avoided  the  use  of  these  in  all 
their  larger  monuments  —  in  all,  in  fact,  which  they  wished  should 
endure  to  the  latest  posterity  ^ 


fiK.  II.  Ch.  VI 


JEWISH  ARCHITECTURE. 


209 


CHAPTER  YI. 
JUDEA. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  MEMORANDA  CONNECTED  WITH  ARCHITECTURE. 

DATES.  I  DATES. 

Moses  B.  c.  1312      Zerubbabel  b.  c.  520 

Solomon  1013      Herod  20 

Ezekiel   573  |   Titus  .   .   .   .   ,  A.  D.  70 


THE  Jews,  like  the  other  Semitic  races,  were  not  a  building  people, 
and  never  aspired  to  monumental  magnificence  as  a  mode  of  per- 
petuating the  memory  of  their  greatness.  The  palace  of  Solomon 
was  wholly  of  cedar  wood,  and  must  have  perished  of  natural  decay 
in  a  few  centuries,  if  it  escaped  fire  and  other  accidents  incident  to 
such  temporary  structures.  Their  first  temple  was  a  tent,  their  second 
depended  almost  entirely  on  its  metallic  ornaments  for  its  splendor, 
and  it  was  not  till  the  Greeks  and  Romans  taught  them  how  to  apply 
stone  and  stone  carving  for  this  purpose,  that  w^e  have  anything  that 
can  be  called  architecture,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term. 

This  deficiency  of  monuments  is  however  by  no  means  peculiar  to 
the  Jewish  people.  As  before  observed,  we  should  know  hardly  any- 
thing of  the  architecture  of  Assyria  but  for  the  existence  of  the 
wainscot  slabs  of  their  palaces,  though  they  were  nearly  a  purely 
Semitic  people,  but  their  art  rested  on  a  Turanian  basis.  Neither 
Tyre  nor  Sidon  have  left  us  a  single  monument ;  nor  Utica  nor  Car- 
thage one  vestige  that  dates  anterior  to  the  Roman  period.  What  is 
found  at  Jerusalem,  at  Baalbec,  at  Palmyra,  or  Petra,  even  in  the 
countries  beyond  the  Jordan,  is  all  Roman.  What  little  traces  of 
Phoenician  art  are  picked  up  in  the  countries  bordering  on  the  Medi« 
terranean  are  copies,  with  Egyptian  or  Grecian  details,  badly  and 
unintelligently  copied,  and  showing  a  want  of  appreciation  of  the 
first  principles  of  art  that  is  remarkable  in  that  age.  It  is  therefore 
an  immense  gain  if  by  our  knowledge  of  Assyrian  art  we  are  enabled, 
even  in  a  moderate  degree,  to  realize  the  form  of  buildings  which 
have  long  ceased  to  exist,  and  are  only  known  to  us  from  verbal 
descriptions. 

The  most  celebrated  secular  building  of  the  Jews  was  the  palace 
which  Solomon  was  occupied  in  building  during  the  thirteen  years 

VOL.  I. —  14 


210 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  I. 


which  followed  his  completion  of  the  Temple.  As  not  one  vestige  of 
this  celebrated  building  remains,  and  even  its  site  is  a  matter  of 
dispute,  the  annexed  plan  must  be  taken  only  as  an  attempt  to  apply 


the  knowledge  we  have  acquired  in  Assyria  and  Judea  to  the  elucida- 
tion of  the  descriptions  of  the  Bible  and  Josephus,i  and  as  such  may 


1  Kings  vii.  l-]2.    Josephus,  B.  J.  viii.  5. 


Bk.  11.  Ch.  VI. 


SOLOMON'S  HOUSE. 


211 


be  considered  of  sufficient  interest  to  deserve  a  place  in  the  History  of 
Architecture. 

The  principal  apartment  here,  as  in  all  Eastern  palaces,  was  the 
great  audience  hall,  in  this  instance  150  feet  in  length  by  75  in  width; 
the  roof  composed  of  cedar,  and,  like  the  Ninevite  palaces,  supported 
by  rows  of  cedar  pillars  on  the  floor.  According  to  Josephus,  who, 
however,  never  saw  it,  and  had  evidently  the  Roman  Stoa  Basilica  of 
the  Temple  in  his  eye,  the  section  would  probably  have  been  as  shown 
in  diagram  A.  But  the  contemporary  Bible  narrative,  which  is  the 
real  authority,  would  almost  certainly  point  to  something  more  like 
the  diagram  B  in  the  annexed  woodcut. 


A.  B 
104.   Diagram  Sections  of  tlie  House  of  the  Cedars  of  Lebanon. 


Next  in  importance  to  this  was  the  Porch,  which  was  the  audience 
or  reception  hall,  attached  to  the  private  apartments.  These  two 
being  the  Dewanni  Aum  and  Dewanni  Khas  of  Eastern  palaces  at 
this  day.  The  Hall  of  Judgment  we  may  venture  to  restore  with  con- 
fidence, from  what  we  find  at  Persepolis  and  Khorsabad  ;  and  the  courts 
are  arranged  in  the  diagram  as  they  were  found  in  JSTinevite  palaces. 
They  are  proportioned,  as  far  as  we  can  now  judge,  to  those  parts  of 
which  the  dimensions  are  given  by  the  authorities,  and  to  the  best 
estimate  we  can  now  make  of  what  would  be  most  suitable  to  Solomon's 
state,  and  to  such  a  capital  as  Jerusalem  was  at  that  time. 

From  Josephus  we  learn  that  Solomon  built  the  walls  of  this  palace 
"  with  stones  10  cubits  in  length,  and  wainscoted  them  with  stones 
that  were  sawed  and  were  of  great  value,  such  as  are  dug  out  of  the 
earth  for  the  ornaments  of  temples  and  the  adornment  of  palaces."  ^ 
These  were  ornamented  with  sculpture  in  three  rows,  but  the  fourth 
or  upper  row  was  the  most  remarkable,  being  covered  with  foliage  in 
relief,  of  the  most  exquisite  workmanship ;  above  this  the  walls  were 
plastered  and  ornamented  with  paintings  in  color:  all  of  which  is 
the  exact  counterpart  of  what  we  find  at  Nineveh. 

From  the  knowledge  we  now  possess  of  Assyrian  palaces  it  might 
indeed  be  possible  to  restore  this  building  with  fairly  approximate 


Josephus,  Ant.  viii.  5,  §  2. 


212 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


correctness,  but  it  would  hardly  be  worth  while  to  attempt  this  except 
in  a  work  especially  devoted  to  Jewish  art.  For  the  present  it  must 
suffice  to  know  that  the  affinities  of  the  architecture  of  Solomon's  age 
were  certainly  Assyrian ;  and  from  our  knowledge  of  the  one  we  may 
pretty  accurately  realize  the  form  of  the  other. 


Temple  of  Jerusalem. 

Although  not  one  stone  remains  upon  another  of  the  celebrated 
Temple  of  Jerusalem,  still  the  descriptions  in  the  Bible  and  Josephus 

are  so  precise,  that  now  that  we  are  able 
to  interpret  them  by  the  light  of  other 
buildings,  its  history  can  be  written  with 
very  tolerable  certainty. 

The  earliest  temple  of  the  Jews  was  the 
Tabernacle,  the  plan  of  which  they  always 
considered  as  divinely  revealed  to  them 
through  Moses  in  the  desert  of  Sinai,  and 
from  which  they  consequently  never  depart- 
ed in  any  subsequent  erections.  Its  dimen- 
sions were  for  the  cella,  or  Holy  of  Holies,  10 
cubits,  or  15  ft.  cube;  for  the  outer  temple, 
two  such  cubes  or  15  ft.  by  30.  These  were 
covered  by  the  sloi)ing  roofs  of  the  tent, 
which  extended  5  cubits  in  every  direction 
beyond  the  temple  itself,  making  the  Avhole 
40  cubits  or  60  ft.  in  length  by  20  cubits  or 
30  ft.  in  width.  These  stood  within  an  en- 
closure 100  cubits  long  by  50  cubits  wide.i 
When  Solomon  (b.  c.  1015)  built  the 
Temple,  he  did  not  alter  the  disposition  in 
tains.''"  ''''''^'^'^  manner,  but  adopted  it  literally,  only 

doubling  every  dimension.  Thus  the  Holy 
of  Holies  became  a  cube  of  20  cubits  ;  the  Holy  place,  20  by  40  ;  the 
porch  and  the  chambers  which  surrounded  it  10  cubits  each,  making 
a  total  of  80  cubits  or  120  ft.  by  40  cubits  or  60  ft.,  with  a  height  of 
30  as  compared  with  15,  which  was  the  height  of  the  ridge  of  the 
Tabernacle,  and  it  was  surrounded  by  a  court  the  dimensions  of  which 
were  200  cubits  in  length  by  100  in  width. 

Even  with  these  increased  dimensions  the  Temple  was  a  very  insig- 
nificant building  in  size  :  the  truth  being  that,  like  the  temples  of 


105.  The  Tabernacle,  showing  one 
half  ground  plan  and  one 


1  The  details  of  this  restoration  are 
given  in  the  "Dictionary  of  the  Bible," 
sub  voce  "  Temple,"  and  repeated  in  my 


work  entitled  "The  Holy  Sepulchre 
and  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem."  Mur- 
ray, 1865. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VI. 


TEMPLE  AT  JEKUSALEM. 


213 


Semitic  nations,  it  was  more  in  the  character  of  a  shrine  or  of  a  treasury 
intended  to  contain  certain  precious  works  in  metal. 

The  principal  ornaments  of  its  fa9ade  were  two  brazen  pillars, 
Jachin  and  Boaz,  which  seem  to  have  been  ivonders  of  metal  work, 
and  regarding  which  more  has  been  written,  and  it  may  be  added, 
more  nonsense,  than  regarding  almost  any  other  known  architectural 
objects.  The  truth  of  the  matter  appears  to  be  that  the  translators  of 
our  Bibles  in  no  instance  were  architects,  and  none  of  the  architects 
who  have  attempted  the  restoration  were  learned  as  Hebrew  scholars ; 
and  consequently  the  truth  has  fallen  to  the  ground  between  the  two. 
A  brazen  pillar,  however,  18  cubits  high  and  12  cubits  in  circumfer- 
ence—  6  ft.  in  diameter  —  is  an  absurdity  that  no  brass-founder  ever 
could  have  perj^etrated.    In  the  Hebrew,  the  15th  verse  reads:  "He 


106.    Soutli-East  View  of  the  Tabernacle,  as  restoied  by  the  Author. 


cast  two  pillars  of  brass,  18  cubits  was  the  height  of  the  one  pillar,  and 
a  line  of  12  cubits  encompassed  the  other  pillar."  ^  The  truth  of  the 
matter  seems  to  be  that  what  Solomon  erected  was  a  screen  (chapiter) 
consisting  of  two  parts,  one  4  cubits,  the  other  5  cubits  in  height,  and 
supported  by  two  pillars  of  metal,  certainly  not  more  than  1  cubit  in 
diameter,  and  standing  12  cubits  apart :  nor  does  it  seem  difficult  to 
perceive  what  purpose  this  screen  was  designed  to  effect.  As  will  be 
observed,  in  the  restoration  of  the  Tabernacle  (Woodcut  No.  106),  the 
whole  of  the  light  to  the  interior  is  admitted  from  the  front.  In  the 
Temple  the  only  light  that  could  penetrate  to  the  Holy  of  Holies  was 
from  the  front  also ;  and  though  the  Holy  place  was  partially  lighted 
from  the  sides,  its  principal  source  of  light  must  have  been  through  the 


1  "Speaker's  Commentary  on  the  Bible,"  vol.  ii.  p.  520;  note  on  verse  15c 
chap.  vii.  1  Kings. 


214  HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE.  Part  I. 

eastern  facade.  In  consequence  of  this  there  must  have  been  a  large 
opening  or  window  in  this  front,  and  as  a  window  was  a  thing  that 
they  had  not  yet  learned  to  make  an  ornamental  feature  in  archi- 
tectural design,  they  took  this  mode  of  screening  and  partially,  at 
least,  hiding  it. 

It  becomes  almost  absolutely  certain  that  this  is  the  true  solution 
of  the  riddle,  when  we  find  that  when  Herod  rebuilt  the  Temple  in  the 
first  century  b.  c,  he  erected  a  similar  screen  for  the  same  purpose  in 
front  of  his  Temple.  Its  dimensions,  however,  were  one-third  larger. 
It  was  40  cubits  high,  and  20  cubits  across,  and  it  supported  five 
beams  instead  of  two ;  ^  not  to  display  the  chequer-work  and  pome- 
granates of  Solomon's  screen,  but  to  carry 
the  Golden  Vine,  which  was  the  principal 
ornament  of  the  fayade  of  the  Temple  in  its 
latest  form.2 

Although  it  is  easy  to  understand  how 
it  was  quite  possible  in  metal  work  to  in- 
troduce all  the  ornaments  enumerated  in 
the  Bible,  and  with  gilding  and  color  to 
make  these  objects  of  wonder,  we  have  no 
examples  with  which  we  can  compare  them, 
and  any  restoration  must  consequently  be 
somewhat  fanciful.  Still  we  must  recollect 
that  this  was  the  "bronze  age"  of  archi- 
tecture. Homer  tells  us  of  the  brazen  house 
of  Priam,  and  the  brazen  palace  of  Alcinous ; 
the  Treasuries  at  Mycenae  were  covered  in- 
ternally with  bronze  plates;  and  in  Etrus- 
can tombs  of  this  age  metal  was  far  more 
essentially  the  material  of  decoration  than 
carving  in  stone,  or  any  of  the  modes  after- 
wards so  frequently  adopted.  The  altar  of  the  Temple  was  of 
brass.    The  molten  sea,  supported  by  twelve  brazen  oxen  ;  the  bases, 


107.  Plan  of  Solomon's  Temple, 
showing  the  disposition  of 
the  chambers  in  two  stories. 


^  For  a  restoration  of  tliis  screen  see 
*  Tree  and  Serpent  Worship,'  Appendix 
i.,  p.  270. 

2  Since  the  article  on  the  Temple  in 
Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  'Bible'  was 
written,  from  which  most  of  the  wood- 
cuts in  this  chapter  are  taken,  I  have  had 
occasion  to  go  over  the  subject  more 
than  once,  and  from  recent  explorations 
and  recently  discovered  analogies  have, 
I  believe,  been  able  to  settle,  within 
very  narrow  limits  of  doubt,  all  the  out- 
standing questions  with  reference  to  this 
celebrated  building.  I  have  in  conse- 
quence written  a  monograph  of  the 


Temple,  which  I  may  probably  one  day 
publish,  but,  pending  this,  it  seems  more 
expedient  to  leave  the  illustrations  as 
they  are.  To  produce  new  ones  without 
writing  a  dissertation  to  explain  why  the 
changes  were  made,  would  only  lead  to 
confusion,  and  it  would  be  absurd  to  in- 
sert such  an  essay  in  a  history  like  this. 
Besides  this  the  alterations  are  not  so  ob- 
vious that  they  could  be  made  apparent 
on  the  small  scale  of  these  cuts,  and  are 
hardly  such  as  to  interest  the  general 
reader,  though  very  important  to  the 
special  student  of  Jewish  architectural 
art. 


Bk,  II.  Ch.  VI. 


TEMPLE  AT  JERUSALEM. 


215 


the  layers,  and  all  the  other  objects  in  metal  work,  were  in  reality 
what  made  the  Temple  so  celebrated ;  and  very  little  was  due  to  the 
mere  masonry  by  which  we  should  judge  of  a  Christian  church  or 
any  modern  building. 

No  pillars  are  mentioned  as  supporting  the  roof,  but  every  analogy 
derived  from  Assyrian  architecture,  as  well  as  the  constructive  neces- 
sities of  the  case,  would  lead  us  to  suppose  they  must  have  existed, 
four  in  the  sanctuary  and  eight  in  the  pronaos. 

The  temple  which  Ezekiel  saw  in  a  vision  on  the  banks  of  the 
Chebar  was  identical  in  dimensions  with  that  of  Solomon,  in  so  far  as 
naos  and  pronaos  were  concerned.    But  a  passage  round  the  naos  was 


COURT     OF  CENTILES 


STOA  BASILICA 


108.   Plan  of  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  as  rebuilt  by  Herod.   Scale  200  ft.  to  1  in. 


introduced,  giving  access  to  the  chambers,  which  added  10  cubits  to 
its  dimensions  every  way,  making  it  100  cubits  by  60.  The  principal 
court,  which  contained  the  Altar  and  the  Temple  properly  so  called, 
had  the  same  dimensions  as  in  Solomon's  Temple ;  but  he  added,  in 
imagination  at  least,  four  courts,  each  100  cubits  or  150  ft.  square. 
That  on  the  east  certainly  existed,  and  seems  to  have  been  the  new 
court  of  Solomon's  Temple,i  and  is  what  in  that  of  Herod  became  the 
court  of  the  Gentiles.  The  north  and  south  courts  were  never  apparently 
carried  out.    They  did  not  exist  in  Solomon's  Temple,  and  there  is 


1  2  Chronicles  xx.  5. 


13k.  II.  Ch.  VI. 


TEMPLE  AT  JERUSALEM. 


217 


evidence  to  show  that  they  were  not  found  in  Zerubbabel's.i  That  on 
the  north-west  angle  was  the  citadel  of  the  Temple,  where  the  treasures 
were  kept,  and  which  was  afterwards  replaced  by  the  Tower  Antonia. 

When  the  Jews  returned  from  the  Captivity  they  rebuilt  the 
Temple  exactly  as  it  had  been  described  by  Ezekiel,  in  so  far  as 
dimensions  are  concerned,  except  that,  as  just  mentioned,  they  do 
not  seem  to  have  been  able  to  accomplish  the  northern  and  southern 
courts. 

The  materials,  however,  were  probably  inferior  to  the  original 
Temple  ;  and  we  hear  nothing  of  brazen  pillars  in  the  porch,  nor  of 
the  splendid  vessels  and  furniture  which  made  the  glory  of  Solomon's 
Temple,  so  that  the  Jews  were  probably  justified  in  mourning  over  its 
comparative  insignificance.^ 

In  the  last  Temple  we  have  a  perfect  illustration  of  the  mode  m 
which  the  architectural  enterprises  of  that  country  were  carried  out.  The 
priests  restored  the  Temple  itself,  not  venturing  to  alter  a  single  one 
of  its  sacred  dimensions,  only  adding  wings  to  the  facade  so  as  to  make 
it  100  cubits  wide,  and  it  is  said  100  cubits  high,  while  the  length 
remained  100  cubits  as  before. ""^  At  this  period,  however,  Judea  was 
under  the  sway  of  the  Romans  and  under  the  influence  of  their  ideas, 
and  the  outer  courts  were  added  with  a  magnificence  of  which  former 
builders  had  no  conception,  but  bore  strongly  the  impress  of  the 
architectural  magnificence  of  the  Romans. 

An  area  measuring  600  feet  each  way  was  enclosed  by  terraced 
walls  of  the  utmost  lithic  grandeur.  On  these  were  erected  porticoes 
unsurpassed  by  any  we  know  of.  One,  the  Stoa  Basilica,  had  a 
section  equal  to  that  of  our  largest  cathedrals,  and  surpassed  them  all 
in  length,  and  within  this  colonnaded  enclosure  Avere  ten  great  gate- 
ways, two  of  which  were  of  surpassing  magnificence :  the  whole 
making  up  a  rich  and  varied  pile  worthy  of  the  Roman  love  of 
architectural  display,  but  in  singular  contrast  with  the  modest 
aspirations  of  a  purely  Semitic  people. 

It  is  always  extremely  difiicult  to  restore  any  building  from  mere 
verbal  description,  and  still  more  so  when  erected  by  a  jieople  of  whose 
architecture  we  know  so  little  as  we  do  of  that  of  the  Jews.  Still,  the 
woodcut  on  the  opposite  page  is  probably  not  very  far  from 
representing  the  Temple  as  it  was  after  the  last  restoration  by  Herod, 
barring  of  course  the  screen  bearing  the  Vine  mentioned  above,  which 
IS  omitted.  Without  attempting  to  justify  every  detail,  it  seems  such 
a  mixture  of  Roman  with  Phoenician  forms  as  might  be  expected  and 
IS  warranted  by  Josephus'  description.  There  is  no  feature  for 
which  authority  could  not  be  quoted,  but  the  difl^iculty  is  to  know 


^  Hecateus  of  Abdera,  in  Miiller's  i  «  Josephus,  Ant.  xi.  4,  §  2. 
Fragments,"  ii.  394.  |    3  Josephus,  B.  J.  v.  5,  §  4. 


218 


HISTORY  OF  AECHITECTURE. 


Tari  I. 


whether  or  not  the  example  adduced  is  the  right  one,  or  the  one  which 
bears  most  directly  on  the  subject.  After  all,  perhaps,  its  principal 
defect  is  that  it  does  not  (how  can  a  modern  restoration?)  do  justice 
to  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  whole. 

Of  all  this  splendor  only  one  little  fragment  is  now  left.  Beneath 
the  platform  of  the  Temple  proper,  one  gateway  still  remains,  which 
may  certainly  be  taken  as  an  example  of  what  Jewish  art  became 
Tinder  Roman  influence.  It  is  the  Gate  Huldah,  and  consists  of  a  long 
passage  measuring  41  ft.  in  width.  At  the  distance  of  38  ft.  from 
the  face  of  the  outer  wall  a  splendid  monolith  supports  four  arches, 
dividing  the  vestibule  into  four  equal  compartments,  each  surmounted 
by  a  flat  dome.  All  were  originally  covered  with  ornament,  but  one 
alone  now  retains  it  in  anything  like  completeness.  It  would  be 
diflicult  to  find  a  more  curious  illustration  of  what  is  sure  to  happen 
when  people  are  employing  a  style  which  is  new  to  them,  and  which 
they  do  not  understand.    The  ornamentation  is  of  a  class  that  does 


lin.   Roof  of  one  of  the  Compartments  of  the  Gate  Huldah.   (From  De  Vogu^.) 

not  belonir  to  domed  or  curved  surfaces  at  all.  What  is  Roman  is 
wholly  misplaced,  but  the  vines  and  the  foliage,  which  are  Jewish,  run 
throucrh  the  whole  and  bind  together  a  design  which  without  them 
woulrl  be  ridiculous.  As  the  only  specimen  of  a  class  it  is  curious.  It 
is  not,  however,  Jewish,  and  is  so  nearly  Roman,  that  we  cannot  but 
feel  that  it  is  introduced  here  before  its  time  in  a  history  of  the  suc= 
cessive  developments  of  architectural  art. 

As  it  has  been  necessary  to  anticipate  the  chronological  sequence 
of  events  in  order  not  to  separate  the  temples  of  the  Jews  from  one 
another,  it  may  be  as  well  befo^-e  proceeding  further  to  aHude  to 
several  temples  similarly  situated  which  apparently  were  originally 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VI. 


TEMPLE  AT  JERUSALEM. 


219 


Semitic  shrines  but  rebuilt  in  Roman  times.  That  at  Palmyra,  for 
instance,  is  a  building  very  closely  resembling  that  at  Jerusalem,  in 
so  far  at  least  as  the  outer  enclosure  is  concerned.^  It  consists  of  a 
cloistered  enclosure  of  somewhat  larger  dimensions,  measuring  exter- 
nally 730  ft.  by  715,  with  a  small  temple  of  an  anomalous  form  in  the 
centre.  It  wants,  however,  all  the  inner  enclosures  and  curious  sub- 
structures of  the  Jewish  fane;  but  this  may  have  arisen  from  its 
having  been  rebuilt  in  late  Roman  times,  and  consequently  shorn  of 
these  peculiarities.  It  is  so  similar,  however,  that  it  must  be  regarded 
as  a  cognate  temple  to  that  at  Jerusalem,  though  re-erected  by  a 
people  of  another  race. 

A  third  temple,  apparently  very  similar  to  these,  is  that  of  Kan- 
govar  in  Persia.^  Only  a  portion  n»w  remains  of  the  great  court  in 
which  it  stood,  and  which  was  nearly  of  the  same  dimensions  as  those 
of  Jerusalem  and  Palmyra,  being  660  ft.  by  568.  In  the  centre  are 
the  vestiges  of  a  small  temple.  At  Aizaini  in  Asia  Minor  ^  is  a  fourth, 
with  a  similar  court;  but  here  the  temple  is  more  important,  and 
assumes  more  distinctly  the  forms  of  a  regular  Roman  peristylar 
temple  of  the  usual  form,  though  still  small  and  insignificant  for  so 
considerable  an  enclosure. 

The  mosque  of  Damascus  was  once  one  of  these  great  square 
temple-enclosures,  with  a  small  temple,  properly  so  called,  in  the 
centre.  It  may  have  been  as  magnificent,  perhaps  more  so,  than  any 
of  these  just  enumerated,  but  it  has  been  so  altered  by  Christian  and 
Moslem  rebuildings,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  now  to  make  out 
what  its  original  form  may  have  been. 

None  of  these  are  original  buildings,  but  still,  when  put  together, 
and  compared  the  one  with  the  other,  and,  above  all,  when  examined 
by  the  light  which  discoveries  farther  east  have  enabled  us  to  throw 
on  the  subject,  they  enable  us  to  restore  this  style  in  something  like 
its  pristine  form.  At  present,  it  is  true,  they  are  but  the  scattered 
fragments  of  an  art  of  which  it  is  feared  no  original  specimens  now 
remain,  and  which  can  only  therefore  be  recovered  by  induction 
from  similar  cognate  examples  of  other,  though  allied,  styles  of  art. 


»  Dawkins  and  Wood,  "  The  Ruins  of  Palmyra,"  Lond.  1753. 

2  Texier,  "  Armenie  et  la  Perse,"  vol.  i.  pi.  62  and  68. 

3  Texier,    Asie  Mineure,"  pi.  10  to  21. 


220 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
ASIA  MINOR. 

CONTENTS. 

Historical  notice  —  Tombs  at  Smyrna  —  Doganlu  —  Lycian  tombs. 
• 

IT  is  now  perhaps  in  vain  to  expect  that  any  monuments  of  the 
most  ancient  times,  of  great  extent  or  of  great  architectural 
importance,  remain  to  be  discovered  in  Asia  Minor ;  still  it  is  a  store- 
house from  which  much  information  may  yet  be  gleaned,  and  whence 
we  may  expect  the  solution  of  many  dark  historical  problems,  if  ever 
they  are  to  be  solved  at  all. 

Situated  as  that  country  is,  in  the  very  centre  of  the  old  world, 
surrounded  on  three  sides  by  navigable  seas  opening  all  the  regions 
of  the  world  to  her  commerce,  possessing  splendid  harbors,  a  rich 
soil,  and  the  finest  climate  of  the  whole  earth,  it  must  not  only  have 
been  inhabited  at  the  earliest  period  of  history,  but  must  have  risen 
to  a  pitch  of  civilization  at  a  time  preceding  any  written  histories 
that  we  possess.  We  may  recollect  that,  in  the  time  of  Psammet- 
icus,  Phrygia  contended  with  Egypt  for  the  palm  of  antiquity,  and 
from  the  monuments  of  the  18th  dynasty  we  know  what  rich  spoil, 
what  beautiful  vases  of  gold,  and  other  tributes  of  a  rich  and  luxuri- 
ous people,  the  Pout  and  Roteno  and  other  inhabitants  of  Asia  Minor 
brought  and  laid  at  the  feet  of  Thothmes  and  other  early  kings, 
eighteen  centuries  at  least  before  the  Christian  era. 

At  a  later  period  (716  to  547  b.  c.)  the  Lydian  empire  was  one  of 
the  richest  and  most  powerful  in  Asia ;  and  contemporary  with  this, 
and  for  a  long  period  subsequent  to  it,  the  Ionian  colonies  of  Greece 
surpassed  the  mother  country  in  wealth  and  refinement,  and  almost 
rivalled  her  in  literature  and  art.  Few  cities  of  the  ancient  world 
surpassed  Ephesus,  Sardis,  or  Halicarnassus  in  splendor ;  and  Troy, 
Tarsus,  and  Trebizond  mark  three  great  epochs  in  the  history  of  Asia 
Minor  which  are  unsurpassed  in  interest  and  political  importance  by 
the  retrospect  of  any  cities  of  the  world.  Excepting,  however,  the 
remains  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  periods  —  the  great  temples  of  the 
first,  and  the  great  theatres  of  the  latter  period  —  little  that  is  archi- 
tectural remains  in  this  once  favored  land.  It  happens  also,  unfortu- 
nately, that  there  was  no  great  capital  city  —  no  central  point — where 


Bk.  11.  Ch.  VII. 


ASIA  MINOR. 


221 


we  can  look  for  monuments  of  importance.  The  defect  in  the  pliysical 
geography  of  the  country  is  that  it  has  no  great  river  running  through 
it  —  no  vast  central  plain  capable  of  supporting  a  population  sufficiently 
great  to  overpower  the  rest  and  to  give  unity  to  the  whole. 

So  far  as  our  researches  yet  reach,  it  would  seem  that  the  oldest 
remains  still  found  in  Asia  Minor  are  the  Tumuli  of  Tantalais,  on  the 
northern  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Smyrna.  They  seem  as  if  left  there 
most  opportunely  to  authenticate  the  tradition  of  the  Etruscans  having 
sailed  from  this  port  for  Italy.  One  of  these  is  represented  in  Wood- 
cuts Nos.  Ill  and  112.    Though  these  tumuli  are  built  wholly  of  stone, 


111.   Elevation  of  Tumulus  at  Tantalais.  (From 
Texier's  "  Asie  Mineure.")   100  ft.  to  1  in. 


112.  Plan  and  Section  of  Cham- 
ber in  Tumulus  at  Tantalais. 


no  one  familiar  with  architectural  resemblances  can  fail  to  see  in  them 
a  common  origin  with  those  of  Etruria.  The  stylobate,  the  sloping- 
sides,  the  inner  chamber,  with  its  pointed  roof,  all  the  arrangements, 
indeed,  are  the  same,  and  the  whole  character  of  the  necropolis  at 
Tantalais  would  be  as  appropriate  at  Tarquinii  or  Caerse  as  at 
Smyrna. 

Another  tumulus  of  equal  interest  historically  is  that  of  Alyattes, 
near  Sardis,  described  with  such  care  by  Herodotus,^  and  which  has 


113.   Section  of  Tomb  of  Alyattes.   (From  Spiegelthal.)   No  scale. 

recently  been  explored  by  Spiegelthal,  the  Prussian  consul  at  Smyrna.^ 
According  to  the  measurements  of  Herodotus,  it  was  either  3800  or 


1  Herodotus,  i.  93.      ^  Lydischen  Konigsgraber^  I.  F.  M.  Olfers,  Berlin,  1859. 


222 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


4100  ft.  m  circumference;  at  present  it  is  found  to  be  1180  ft.  in 
diameter,  and  consequently  about  3700  ft.  in  circumference  at  the  top 
of  the  basement,  though  of  course  considerably  more  below.  It  is 
situated  on  the  edge  of  a  rocky  ridge,  which  is  made  level  on  one  side 
by  a  terrace-wall  of  large  stones,  60  ft.  in  height;  above  this  the 
mound  rises  to  the  height  of  142  ft. :  the  total  height  above  the  plain 
being  228  ft.  The  upper  part  of  the  mound  is  composed  of  alternate 
layers  of  clay,  loam,  and  a  kind  of  rubble  concrete.  These  support  a 
mass  of  brickwork,  surmounted  by  a  platform  of  masonry;  on  this  one 
of  the  steles  described  by  Herodotus  still  lies,  and  one  of  the  smaller 
ones  was  found  close  by. 

The  funereal  chamber  was  disco^'ered  resting  on  the  rock  at  about 
160  ft.  from  the  centre  of  the  mound.  Its  dimensions  were  11  ft.  by 
7  ft.  9  in.,  and  7  ft.  high  ;  the  roof  flat  and  composed  of  large  stones, 
on  which  rested  a  layer  of  charcoal  and  ashes,  2  ft.  in  thickness,  evi- 
dently the  remains  of  the  offerings  which  had  been  made  after  the 
chamber  was  closed,  but  before  the  mound  had  been  raised  over  it. 

There  are  in  the  same  locality  an  immense  number  of  tumuli  of 
various  dimensions,  among  which  Herr  Spiegelthal  fancies  he  can 
discriminate  three  classes,  belonging  to  three  distinct  ages ;  that  of 
Alyattes  belonging  to  the  most  modern.  This  is  extremely  probable, 
as  at  this  time  (b.c.  561)  the  fashion  of  erecting  tumuli  as  monuments 
was  dying  out  in  this  part  of  world,  though  it  continued  in  less 
civilized  parts  of  Europe  till  long  after  the  Christian  era. 

The  tumuli  that  still  adorn  the  Plain  of  Troy  are  probably  contem- 
porary with  the  older  of  the  three  groups  of  those  around  the  Gygean 
Lake.  Indeed  there  does  not  seem  much  reason  for  doubting  that 
they  were  really  raised  over  the  ashes  of  the  heroes  who  took  part  in 
that  memorable  struggle,  and-  whose  names  they  still  bear. 

The  recent  explorations  of  these  mounds  do  not  seem  to  have 
thrown  much  light  on  the  subject,  but  if  we  can  trust  the  account 
Chevalier  gives  of  his  researches  at  the  end  of  the  last  century,  the 
case  is  clear  enough,  and  there  can  be  very  little  doubt  but  that  the 
Dios  Tope  on  the  Sigsean  promontory  is  really  the  tomb  of  Achilles. ^ 
Intensely  interesting  though  they  are  in  other  respects,  Schliemann's 
discoveries  on  the  site  of  Troy  have  done  very  little  to  increase  our 


»  "  Toward  the  centre  of  the  monu- 
ment two  large  stones  were  found  leaning 
at  an  angle  the  one  against  the  other,  and 
forming  a  sort  of  tent  like  in  Woodcut 
122,  under  which  was  presently  discov- 
ered a  small  statue  of  Minerva  seated  on 
a  chariot  with  four  horses,  and  an  urn  of 
metal  filled  with  ashes,  charcoal,  and 
burnt  bones.  This  urn,  which  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  the  Comte  de  Choiseul, 


is  enriched  in  sculpture  with  a  vine 
branch,  from  which  is  suspended  bunch- 
es of  grapes  done  with  exquisite  art."  — 
"Description  of  the  Plain  of  Troy," 
translated  by  Dalzel,  Edin.  1791,  p.  149. 

If  this  is  so,  this  is  no  doubt  the  vessel 
mentioned,  "Iliad,"  xvi.  221,  xxiii.  92: 
"Od.,"  xxiv.  71,  and  elsewhere.  But 
where  is  it  now?  and  why  has  not  the  fact 
of  its  existence  been  more  insisted  upon  ? 


Bk.  11.  Cu.  Vil. 


ASIA  MINOR. 


223 


knowledge  of  the  architecture  of  the  period.  This  may  partly  be 
owing  to  his  ignorance  of  the  art,  and  to  his  having  no  architect  with 
him,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  any  architectural  mouldings  were 
discovered  earlier  than  those  of  "Ilium  Novum,"  two  or  three 
centuries  before  Christ.  The  so-called  Temple  of  Minerva  was  with- 
out pillars  or  mouldings  of  any  sort,  and  the  walls  and  gates  of  the 
old  city  were  equally  devoid  of  ornament.  What  was  found  seems 
to  confirm  the  idea  that  the  Trojans  were  a  Turanian-Pelasgic  people, 
burying  their  dead  in  mounds,  and  revelling  in  barbaric  splendor,  but 
not  having  reached  that  degree  of  civilization  which  would  induce 
them  to  seek  to  perpetuate  their  forms  of  art  in  more  permanent 
materials  than  earth  and  metals.^ 

It  is  not  clear  whether  any  other  great  groups  of  tumuli  exist  in 
Asia  Minor,  but  it  seems  more  than  probable  that  in  the  earliest  times 
the  wiiole  of  this  country  was  inhabited  by  a  Pelasgic  race,  w^io  were 
the  first  known  occupants  of  Greece,  and  who  built  the  so-called 
Treasuries  of  Mycenae  and  Orchomenos,  and  who  sent  forth  the 
Etruscans  to  civilize  Italy.  If  this  be  so,  it  accounts  for  the  absence 
of  architectural  remains,  for  they  would  have  left  behind  them  no 
buildings  but  the  sepulchres  of  their  departed  great  ones  ;  and  if  their 
history  is  to  be  recovered,  it  must  be  sought  for  in  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  and  not  in  anything  existing  above-ground. 

N"ext  to  these  in  point  of  age  and  style  comes  a  curious  group  of 
rock-cut  monuments,  found  in  the  centre  of  the  land  at  Doganlu. 
They  are  placed  on  the  rocky  side  of  a  narrow  valley,  and  are  uncon- 
nected apparently  with  any  great  city  or  centre  of  j^opulation. 
Generally  they  are  called  tombs,  but  there  are  no  chambers  nor  any- 
thing about  them  to  indicate  a  funereal  purpose,  and  the  inscriptions 
which  accompany  them  are  not  on  the  monuments  themselves,  nor  do 
they  refer  to  such  a  destination.  Altogether,  they  are  certainly  among 
the  most  mysterious  remains  of  antiquity,  and,  beyond  a  certain 
similarity  to  the  rock-cut  tombs  around  Persepolis,  j^resent  no  features 
that  afford  even  a  remote  analogy  to  other  monuments  which  might 
guide  us  in  our  conjectures  as  to  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
designed.  They  are  of  a  style  of  art  clearly  indicating  a  wooden 
origin,  and  consist  of  a  square  frontispiece,  either  carved  into  certain 


^  One  of  the  most  interesting  facts 
brought  to  hght  in  Dr.  SchHemann's 
excavations  is  that  between  the  age  of 
the  "  lUum  Yetus  "  of  Homer,  rich  in 
metals  and  in  arts,  and  the  "  Ilium  Nov- 
um "  of  Strabo,  a  people  ignorant  of  the 
use  of  the  metals,  and  using  only  bone 
and  stone  implements,  inhabited  the 
mound  at  Hissarlik  which  covered  both 


these  cities.  This  discovery  is  sufficient 
to  upset  the  once  fashionable  Danish 
theory  of  the  three  ages  Stone,  Bronze, 
and  Iron  —  but  unfortunately  adds 
nothing  to  our  knowledge  of  architec- 
ture. These  people,  whoever  they  were, 
built  nothing,  and  must  consequently  be 
content  to  remain  in  the  *'  longa  nocte  " 
of  those  who  neglect  the  Master  Art. 


224 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


geometric  shapes,  or  apparently  prepared  for  painting ;  at  each  side  is 
a  flat  pilaster,  and  above  a  pediment  terminating  in  two  scrolls.  Some 
—  apparently  the  more  modern  —  have  pillars  of  a  rude  Doric  order, 
and  all  indeed  are  much  more  singular  than  beautiful.  When  more 
of  the  same  class  are  discovered,  they  may  help  us  to  some  historic 
data:  all  that  we  can  now  advance  is,  that,  judging  from  the  inscrip- 
tions on  them,  and  the  traditions  in  Herodotus,  they  would  appear  to 
belong  to  some  race  from  Thessaly,  or  thereabouts,  who  at  some 
remote  period  crossed  the  Hellespont  and  settled  in  their  neighbor- 
hood ;  they  may  be  dated  as  far  back  as  1000,  and  most  probably 
700  years  at  least  before  the  Christian  Era. 


114.    Rock-cut  Frontispiece  at  Doganlu.   (From  Texier's  "  Asie  Mineure.") 

There  are  other  rock-cut  sculptures  farther  east,  at  Pterium  and 
elsewhere ;  but  all  these  are  figure  sculptures,  without  architectural 
form  or  details,  and  therefore  hardly  coming  within  the  limits  of  this 

work.  -  .    A  •  Tvf 

The  only  remaining  important  architectural  group  m  Asia  Mmor 
is  that  of  Lycia,  made  known  in  this  country  since  the  year  1838,  by 
the  investigations  of  Sir  Charles  Fellows  and  others.  Interesting 
though  they  certainly  are,  they  are  extremely  disheartening  to  any 
one  looking  for  earlier  remains  in  this  land,— inasmuch  as  all  of  them, 
and  more  especially  the  older  ones,  indicate  distinctly  a  wooden  origin 
more  strongly  perhaps  than  any  architectural  remains  in  the  Western 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VII. 


LYCIAN  TOMBS. 


225 


world.  The  oldest  of  them  cannot  well  be  carried  farther  back  than 
the  Persian  conquest  of  Cyrus  and  Harpagus.  In  other  words,  it 
seems  perfectly  evident  that  up  to  1:hat  period  the  Lycians  used  only 
wood  for  their  buildings,  and  that  it  was  only  at  that  time,  and  prol)- 
ably  from  the  Greeks  or  Egyptians,  that  they,  like  the  Persians  them- 
selves, first  learnt  to  substitute  for  their  frail  and  perishable  structures 
others  of  a  more  durable  material. 


115.   Lycian  Tomb.    (From  British  Museum.) 


As  already  observed,  the^same  process  can  be  traced  in  Egypt  in 
the  earliest  ages.  In  Central  Asia  the  change  was  effected  by  the 
Persians.  In  India  between  the  2nd  and  3rd  centuries  b.  c.  In  Greece 
— in  what  was  not  borrowed  from  the  Egyptians  — the  change  took 
place  a  little  earlier  than  in  Lycia,  or  say  in  the  7th  century  b.  c. 
What  is  important  to  observe  here  is  that,  wherever  the  process  can  be 
detected,  it  is  in  vain  to  look  for  earlier  buildings.  It  is  only  in  the 
infancy  of  stone  architecture  that  men  adhere  to  wooden  forms ;  and 
as  soon  as  habit  gives  them  familiarity  with  the  new  material,  they 

VOL.  I.  — 15 


226 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  X. 


abandon  the  incongruities  of  the  style,  and  we  lose  all  trace  of  the 
original  form,  which  never  reappears  at  an  after  age. 

All  the  original  buildings  of*  Lycia  are  tombs  or  monumental 
erections  of  some  kind,  and  generally  may  be  classed  under  two 
heads,  those  having  curvilinear  and  those  having  rectilinear  roofs, 
of  both  which  classes  examples  are  found  structural  —  or  standing 
alone,  —  as  well  as  rock-cut.  The  woodcut  (No.  115)  represents  a 
perfectly  constructed  tomb.  It  consists  first  of  a  double  podium, 
which  may  have  been  in  all  cases,  or  at  least  generally,  of  stone. 

Above  this  is  a  rectangular 
chest  or  sarcophagus,  cer- 
tainly copied  from  a  wood- 
en form;  all  the  mortises 
and  framing,  even  to  the 
pins  that  held  them  to- 
gether, being  literally  ren- 
dered in  tlie  stonework. 
Above  this  is  a  curvilinear 
roof  of  pointed  form,  which 
also  is  in  all  its  parts  a  copy 
of  an  original  in  wood. 

When  these  forms  are 
repeated  in  the  rock,  the 
stylobate  is  omitted,  and 
only  the  upper  part  repre- 
sented, as  shown  in  the  an- 
nexed woodcut  (No.  116). 

When  the  curvilinear 
roof  is  omitted,  a  flat  one 
is  substituted,  nearly  simi- 
lar to  those  common  in  the 
country  at  the  present  day, 
consisting  of  beams  of  un- 
squared  timber,  laid  side  by 
side  as  close  as  they  can  be 
laid,  and  over  this  a  mass 
of  concrete  or  clay,  sufliiciently  thick  to  prevent  the  rain  from  pene- 
trating through.  Sometimes  this  is  surmounted  by  a  low  pediment, 
and  sometimes  the  lower  framing  also  stands  out  from  the  rock,  so  as 
to  give  the  entrance  of  the  tomb  something  of  a  porch-like  form.  Both 
these  forms  are  illustrated  in  the  two  woodcuts  (Nos.  117  and  118), 
and  numerous  varieties  of  them  are  shown  in  the  works  of  Sir  Charles 
Fellows  and  others,  all  containing  the  same  elements,  and  betraying 
most  distinctly  the  wooden  origin  from  which  they  were  derived. 
The  last  form  that  these  buildings  took  was  in  the  substitution  of 


116.   Rock-cut  Lycian  Toin'>.    (From  Forbes  and 
Spratt's  "  Ljcirf..") 


228 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  r. 


an  Ionic  fayade  for  these  carpentry  forms  :  this  was  not  done  apparently 
at  once,  for,  though  the  Ionic  form  was  evidently  borrowed  from  the 

neighboring  Greek  cities,  it 
was  only  adopted  by  degrees 
and  even  then  betrayed  more 
strongly  the  wooden  forms 
from  Avhich  its  entablature 
was  derived  than  is  usually 
found  in  other  or  more  purely 
Grecian  examples.  As  soon 
as  it  had  fairly  gained  a 
footing,  the  wooden  style  was 
abandoned,  and  a  masonry 
one  substituted  in  its  stead. 
The  whole  change  took  place 
in  this  country  probably 
within  a  century ;  but  this 
is  not  a  fair  test  of  the  time 
such  a  process  usually  takes, 
as  here  it  w  as  evidently  done 
under  foreign  influence  and 
with  the  spur  given  by  the 
example  of  a  stone-building 
people.  We  have  no  knowledge  of  how  long  it  took  in  Egypt  to  effect 
the  transformation.  In  India,  where  the  form  and  construction  of  the 
older  Buddhist  temj)les  resemble  so  singularly  these  examples  in 
Lycia,  the  process  can  be  traced  through  five  or  six  centuries ;  and 
in  Persia  it  took  ])erhaps  nearly  as  long  to  convert  the  wooden 
designs  of  the  Assyrians  into  even  the  imperfect  stone  architecture 
of  the  AchcTinenians.  Even  in  their  best  and  most  perfect  buildings, 
however,  much  remained  to  be  done  before  the  carpentry  types  were 
fairly  got  rid  of  and  the  style  became  entitled  to  rank  among  the 
masonic  arts  of  the  world. 

The  remaining  ancient  buildings  of  Asia  Minor  were  all  built  by 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  each  in  their  own  style,  so  that  their  classi- 
fication and  description  belong  properly  to  the  chapters  treating  of  the 
architectural  history  of  those  nations,  from  which  they  cannot  properly 
be  se])arated,  although  it  is  at  the  same  time  undoubtedly  true  that 
the  purely  European  forms  of  the  art  were  considerably  modified  by  the 
influence  on  them  of  local  Asiatic  forms  and  feelings.  The  Ionic  order, 
for  instance,  which  arose  in  the  Grecian  colonies  on  the  coast,  is  only 
the  native  style  of  this  country  Doricised,  if  the  expression  may  be  used. 
In  other  words,  the  local  method  of  building  had  become  so  modified  and 
altered  by  the  Greeks  in  adapting  it  to  the  Doric,  which  had  become  the 
typical  style  wdtli  them,  as  to  cause  the  loss  of  almost  all  its  original 


119.   Ionic  Lyciaii  Tomb.    (From  Texier' s  '  Asie 
Miueure.") 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VII. 


LYCIAN  TOMBS. 


229 


Asiatic  forms.  It  thus  became  essentially  a  stone  architecture  with  ex- 
ternal columns,  instead  of  a  style  indulging  only  in  wooden  pillars,  and 
those  used  internally,  as  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  was  the  earlier 
form  of  the  art.  The  Ionic  style,  thus  composed  of  two  elements, 
took  the  arrangement  of  the  temples  from  the  Doric,  and  their  details 
from  the  Asiatic  original.  The  Roman  temples,  on  the  contrary,  which 
have  been  erected  in  this  part  of  the  world,  in  their  columns  and  other 
details  exactly  follow  the  buildings  at  Rome  itself :  while,  as  in  the 
instances  above  quoted  of  Jerusalem,  Palmyra,  Kangovar,  and  others, 
the  essential  forms  and  arrangements  are  all  local  and  Asiatic.  The 
former  are  Greek  temples  with  Asiatic  details,  the  latter  Asiatic 
temples  with  only  Roman  masonic  forms.  The  Greeks  in  fact  were 
colonists,  the  Romans  only  conquerors ;  and  hence  the  striking  differ- 
ence in  the  style  of  Asiatic  art  executed  under  their  respective  influ- 
ence. We  shall  have  frequent  occasion  in  the  sequel  to  refer  to  this 
difference. 


120.   Elevation  of  the  Monument  and  Section  of  the  Tomb  at  Amrith.   (From  Renan.i) 


Though  not  strictly  within  the  geographical  limits  of  this  chapter, 
there  is  a  group  of  tombs  at  Amrith  —  the  ancient  Marathos,  on  the 
coast  of  Syria  —  which  are  too  interesting  to  be  passed  over  ;  but  so 


^  In  reality  the  monument  stands  ex- 
actly over  the  centre  of  the  rock-cut 
sepulchre.    The  section-line  must  there- 


fore, be  understood  to  be  carried  back 
about  10  feet  from  the  face  of  the  monu- 
ment. 


230 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


exceptional  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  that  it  is  difficult 
to  assign  them  their  proper  place  anywhere. 

The  principal  monument  represented  in  Woodcut  No.  120  is 
31  ft.  8  in.  in  height,  composed  of  very  large  blocks  of  stone  and 
situated  over  a  sepulchral  cavern.  There  is  no  inscription  or  indi- 
cation to  enable  us  to  fix  its  date  with  certainty.  The  details  of  its 
architecture  might  be  called  Assyrian  ;  but  we  know  of  nothing  in 
that  country  that  at  all  resembles  it.  On  the  other  hand  there  is  a 
moulding  on  its  base,  which,  if  correctly  drawn,  would  appear  to  be 
of  Roman  origin  ;  and  there  is  a  look  about  the  lions  that  would  lead 
us  to  suspect  they  were  carved  under  Greek  influence  —  after  the  age 
of  Alexander  at  least. 

The  interest  consists  in  its  being  almost  the  only  perfect  survivor 
of  a  class  of  monuments  at  one  time  probably  very  common ;  but 
which  we  are  led  to  believe  from  the  style  of  ornamentation  were 
generally  in  brick.  It  is  also  suggestive,  from  its  close  resemblance  to 
the  Buddhist  topes  in  Afghanistan  and  India ;  the  tall  form  of  those, 
especially  in  the  first-named  country,  and  their  universally  domical 
outline,  point  unmistakeably  to  some  such  original  as  this :  and 
lastly,  were  I  asked  to  point  out  the  building  in  the  old  world  which 
most  resembled  the  stele  which  Herod  erected  over  the  Tombs  of  the 
Kings  at  Jerusalem,  in  expiation  of  his  desecration  of  their  sanctity,^ 
this  is  the  monument  to  which  I  should  unhesitatingly  refer. 


1  Joaephus,  Ant.  xvi.  7,  §  1. 


121-   West  View  of  the  Acropolis,   (iroin  Wordsworth  s  •■  Athens." 


BOOK  III. 

CHAPTER  I. 
GREECE. 

CONTENTS. 

Historical  notice  —  Pelasgic  art  —  Tomb  of  Atreiis  —  Other  remains  —  Hellenic 
Greece  —  History  of  the  orders  —  Doric  order  —  The  Parthenon  —  Ionic  order 
—  Corinthian  order  —  Caryatides  —  Forms  of  temples  —  Mode  of  lighting  — 
Municipal  architecture  —  Theatres. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  MEMORANDA. 


DATES. 

AtridsB  at  Mycenfe,  from  .  B.  c.  1207  to  1104 
Return  of  the  Heraclidse  to  Peloponnese  1104 


Olympiads  commence  776 

Cypselidae  at  Corinth  —  Building  of  tem- 
ple at  Corinth,  from    ....  655  to  581 

Selinus  founded,  and  first  temple  com- 
menced  626 

Ascendency  of  .^gina  —  Building  of  tem- 
ple at  ^gina,  from   508  to  449 

Battle  of  Marathon  490 


DATES. 

Battle  of  Salamis  b.  c.  480 

Theron  at  Agrigentum.  Commences 

great  temple   480  • 

Cimon  at  Athens.    Temple  of  Theseus 

built  469 

Pericles  at  Athens.  Parthenon  finished  438 
Temple  of  Jupiter  at  Olympia  finished  .  436 
Propylgea  at  Athens  built,  from  .  437  to  432 
Selinus  destroyed  by  Carthaginians  .  .  410 
Erechtheium  at  Athens  finished  .  .  .  409 
Monument  of  Lvsicrates  at  Athens  .  .  335 
Death  of  Alexander  the  Great  ....  324. 


TILL  within  a  very  recent  period  the  histories  of  Greece  and  Rome 
have  been  considered  as  the  ancient  histories  of  the  world ;  and  even 
now,  in  our  universities  and  public  schools,  it  is  scarcely  acknowledged 


'  Beule's  excavations  have  proved 
that  the  outer  gate  of  the  Acropolis  was 
in  front,  not  at  the  side  as  here  shown. 


"Acropole  d'Athenes."  Paris,  vol.  i. 
pi.  i.  and  ii. 


232 


HISTORY  OF  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  I. 


that  a  more  ancient  record  lias  been  read  on  the  monuments  of  Egypt 
and  dug  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  earth  in  Assyria. 

It  is  nevertheless  true  that  the  decipherment  of  the  hieroglyphics 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  reading  of  the  arrow-headed  characters  on  the 
other,  have  disclosed  to  us  two  forms  of  civilization  anterior  to  that 
which  reappeared  in  Greece  in  the  8th  century  before  Christ.  Based 
on  those  that  preceded  it,  the  Hellenic  form  developed  itself  there  with 
a  degree  of  perfection  never  before  seen,  nor  has  it,  in  its  own  peculiar 
department,  ever  been  since  surpassed. 

These  discoveries  have  been  of  the  utmost  importance,  not  only 
in  correcting  our  hitherto  narrow  views  of  ancient  history,  but  in 
assisting  to  explain  much  that  was  obscure,  or  utterly  unintelligible, 
in  those  histories  with  which  we  were  more  immediately  familiar. 
We  now,  for  the  first  time,  comprehend  whence  the  Greeks  obtained 
many  of  their  arts  and  much  of  their  civilization,  and  to  what  extent 
the  character  of  these  was  affected  by  the  sources  from  which  they 
were  derived. 

Having  already  described  the  artistic  forms  of  Egypt  and  Assyria, 
it  is  not  difficult  to  discover  the  origin  of  almost  every  idea,  and  of 
every  architectural  feature,  that  was  afterwards  found  in  Greece. 
But  even  with  this  assistance  we  should  not  be  able  to  understand  the 
phenomena  which  Greek  art  presents  to  us,  were  it  not  that  the  monu- 
ments reveal  to  us  the  existence  of  two  distinct  and  separate  races 
existing  contemporaneously  in  Greece.  If  the  Greeks  were  as  purely 
Aryan  as  their  language  would  lead  us  to  believe,  all  our  ethnographic 
theories  are  at  fault.  But  this  is  precisely  one  of  those  cases  where 
archaeology  steps  in  to  supplement  what  philology  tells  us  and  to 
elucidate  what  that  science  fails  to  reveal.  That  the  language  of  the 
Greeks,  with  the  smallest  possible  admixture  from  other  sources,  is 
pure  Aryan,  no  one  will  dispute ;  but  their  arts,  their  religion,  and 
frequently  their  institutions,  tend  to  ascribe  to  them  an  altogether 
different  origin.  Fortunately  the  ruins  at  Mycenae  and  Orchomenos 
are  sufficient  to  afford  us  a  key  to  the  mystery.  From  them  we  learn 
that  at  the  time  of  the  war  of  Troy  a  people  were  supreme  in  Greece 
who  were  not  Hellens,  but  who  were  closely  allied  to  the  Etruscans 
and  other  tomb-building,  art-loving  races.  Whether  they  were  purely 
Turanian,  or  merely  ultra^Celtic,  may  be  questioned ;  but  one  thing 
seems  clear,  that  this  people  were  then  known  to  the  ancients  under 
the  name  of  Pelnsgi,  and  it  is  their  presence  in  Greece,  mixed  up  with 
the  more  purely  Dorian  races,  which  explains  what  would  otherwise 
be  unintelligible  in  Grecian  civilization. 

Except  from  our  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  a  strong  infusion 
of  Turanian  blood  into  the  veins  of  the  Grecian  people,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  understand  how  a  people  so  purely  Aryan  in  appearance 
came  to  adopt  a  religion  so  essentially  Antliropic  and  Ancestral. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  I. 


GREECE. 


233 


Their  belief  in  oracles,  their  worship  of  trees,^  and  many  minor 
peculiarities,  were  altogether  abhorrent  to  the  Aryan  mind. 

The  existence  of  these  two  antagonistic  elements  satisfactorily 
explains  how  it  was  that  while  art  was  unknown  in  the  purely 
Dorian  city  of  Sparta,  it  flourished  so  exuberantly  in  the  quasi- 
Pelasgic  city  of  Athens ;  why  the  Dorians  borrowed  their  archi- 
tectural order  from  Egypt,  and  hardly  changed  its  form  during  the 
long  period  they  employed  it ;  and  how  it  came  to  pass  that  the  eastern 
art  of  the  Persians  was  brought  into  Greece,  and  how  it  was  there 
modified  so  essentially  that  we  hardly  recognize  the  original  in  its 
altered  and  more  perfect  form.  It  explains,  too,  how  the  different 
States  of  Greece  were  artistic  or  matter-of-fact  in  the  exact  pro- 
portion in  which  either  of  the  two  elements  predominated  in  the 
people. 

Thus  the  poetry  of  Arcadia  was  unknown  in  the  neighboring 
State  of  Sparta;  but  the  Doric  race  there  remained  true  to  their 
institutions  and  spread  their  colonies  and  their  power  farther  than 
any  other  of  the  little  principalities  of  Greece.  The  institutions  of 
Lycurgus  could  never  have  been  maintained  in  Athens ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Parthenon  was  as  impossible  in  the  Lacedemonian 
State.  Even  in  Athens  art  would  not  have  been  the  wonder  that  it 
became  without  that  happy  admixture  of  the  two  races  which  then 
prevailed,  mingling  the  common  sense  of  the  one  with  the  artistic 
feeling  of  the  other,  which  tended  to  produce  the  most  brilliant 
intellectual  development  which  has  yet  dazzled  the  world  with  its 
splendor. 

The  contemporary  presence  of  these  two  races  perhaps  also  ex- 
plains how  Greek  civilization,  though  so  wonderfully  brilliant,  passed 
so  quickly  away.  Had  either  race  been  pure,  the  Dorian  institutions 
might  have  lasted  as  long  as  the  village-systems  of  India  or  the  arts 
of  Egypt  or  China ;  but  where  two  dissimilar  races  mix,  the  tendency 
is  inevitably  to  revert  to  the  type  of  one,  and,  though  the  intermixture 
may  produce  a  stock  more  brilliant  than  either  parent,  the  type  is  less 
permanent  and  soon  passes  away.  So  soon  was  it  the  case,  in  this  in- 
stance, that  the  whole  of  the  great  history  of  Greece  may  be  said  to  be 
comprehended  in  the  period  ranging  between  the  battle  of  Marathon 
(b.  c.  490)  and  the  peace  concluded  with  Philip  of  Macedon  by  the 
Athenians  (b.  c.  346)  :  so  that  the  son  of  a  man  who  was  born  before 
the  first  event  may  have  been  a  party  to  the  second.  All  those 
wonders  of  patriotism,  of  poetry,  and  art,  for  which  Greece  was 
famous,  crowded  into  the  short  space  of  a  century  and  a  half,  is  a 
phenomenon  the  like  of  which  the  world  has  not  seen  before,  and  is 
not  likely  to  witness  again. 


For  details  of  this  see  Botticher,    Baumkultus  der  Hellenen." 


Berlin,  1856. 


234 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


Pelasgic  Art.1 

As  might  be  expected,  from  the  length  of  time  that  has  elapsed 
since  the  Pelasgic  races  ruled  in  Greece,  and  owing  to  the  numerous 
changes  that  have  taken  place  in  that  country  since  their  day,  their 
architectural  remains  are  few,  and  comparatively  insignificant.  It 
has  thus  come  to  pass  that,  were  it  not  for  their  tombs,  their  city 
walls,  and  tlieir  works  of  civil  engineering,  such  as  bridges  and 
tunnels  —  in  which  they  were  pre-eminent  —  we  should  hardly  now 
possess  any  material  remains  to  prove  their  existence  or  mark  the 
degree  of  civilization  to  which  they  had  reached. 

The  most  remarkable  of  these  remains  are  the  tombs  of  the  kings 
of  Mycenae,  a  city  which  in  Homeric  times  had  a  fair  title  to  be  con- 
sidered the  capital  of  Greece,  or  at  all  events  to  be  considered  one  of 
the  most  important  of  her  cities.    The  Dorians  described  these  as 


5  10      20      30      40      50  ft. 


122.   Section  ai  d  Plan  of  Tomb  of  Atreiis  at  Mycenae.   Scale  of  plan  100  ft.  to  1  in. 

treasuries,  from  tlie  number  of  precious  objects  found  in  them,  as  in 
the  tombs  of  the  Etruscans,  and  because  they  looked  upon  such  halls 
as  far  more  than  sufficient  for  the  narrow  dwellings  of  the  dead. 
The  most  perfect  and  the  largest  of  them  now  existing  is  known  as 
the  Treasury  or  Tomb  of  Atreus  at  Mycenae,  shown  in  plan  and  section 
in  the  annexed  woodcut.  The  principal  chamber  is  48  tt.  6  in.  in 
diameter,  and  is,  or  was  when  pei-fect,  of  the  shape  of  a  regular 
equilateral  pointed  arch,  a  form  well  adapted  to  the  mode  of  con- 
struction, which  is  that  of  horizontal  layers  of  stones,  projecting  the 


1  Writers  who  derive  their  knowledge 
of  Grecian  art  from  books  only  are  ex- 
tremely indignant  when  any  archaeolo- 
gist ventures  to  suggest  that  he  knows 
something  of  the  Pelasgi,  or  of  their  af- 
finities. Their  language  has  entirely 
perished;  and  the  written  accounts  are 
so  conflicting  and  unsatisfactory,  tliat 
no  clear  ideas  on  the  subject  can  be  ob- 


tained from  them.  It  is  not,  therefore, 
to  be  wondered  at  that  authorities  should 
hitherto  have  differed  so  much  regard- 
ing them.  The  testimony  of  their  works 
is,  however,  so  clear  and  distinct,  that 
the  bookworms  would  do  well  to  keep 
their  tempers  till  at  least  they  have  mas- 
tered the  evidence  and  can  refute  It. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  I. 


PELASGIC  ART. 


235 


one  beyond  the  other,  till  one  small  stone  closed  the  whole,  and  made 
the  vault  complete. 

As  will  be  explained  further  on,  this  was  the  form  of  dome  adopted 
by  the  Jaina  architects  in  India.  It  prevailed  also  in  Italy  and  Asia 
Minor  wherever  a  Pelasgic  race  is  traced,  down  to  the  time  when  the 
pointed  form  again  came  into  use  in  the  Middle  Ages,  though  it  was 
not  then  used  as  a  horizontal,  but  as  a  radiating  arch. 

On  one  side  of  this  hall  is  a  chamber  cut  in  the  rock,  the  true 
sepulchre  apparently,  and  externally  is  a  long  passage,  leading  to  a 
doorway,  which,  judging  from 
the  fragments  that  remain 
(Woodcut  No.l23),  must  have 
been  of  a  purely  Asiatic  form 
of  art,  and  very  unlike  any- 
thing found  subsequent  to 
this  period  in  Greece. 

To  all  appearance  the 
dome  was  lined  internally 
with  plates  of  brass  or  bronze, 
some  nails  of  which  metals 
are  now  found  there ;  and  the 
holes  in  which  the  nails  were 
inserted  are  still  to  be  seen 
all  over  the  place.  Another 
of  these  tombs,  erected  by 
Minyas  at  Orchomenos,  de- 
scribed by  Pausanias  as  one 
of  the  wonders  of  Greece,^ 
seems  from  the.  remains  still 
existing  to  have  been  at  least 

20  ft.  wider   than    this   one,    123.   Fragment  of  Pillar  in  front  of  Tomb  of  Atreus 

and  proportionably  larger  in  at  Mycena?. 

every  respect.   All  these  were 

covered  with  earth,  and  many  are  now  probably  hidden  which  a 
diligent  search  might  reveal.  It  is  hardly,  however,  to  be  hoped  that 
an  unritied  tomb  may  be  discovered  in  Greece,  though  numerous 
examples  are  found  in  Etruria.  The  very  name  of  treasury  must 
have  excited  the  cupidity  of  the  Greeks ;  and  as  their  real  destination 
was  forgotten,  no  lingering  respect  for  the  dead  could  have  restrained 
the  hand  of  the  spoiler. 

As  domes  constructed  on  the  horizontal  principle,  these  two  are 
the  largest  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge,  though  there  does  not 
appear  to  be  any  reasonable  limit  to  the  extent  to  which  such  a 


1  Pausanias,  ix.  38. 


236 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Part  I. 


form  of  building  might  be  carried.  When  backed  by  earth,  as 
these  were,  it  is  evident,  from  the  mode  of  construction,  that  they 
cannot  be  destroyed  by  any  equable  pressure  exerted  from  the 
exterior. 

The  only  danger  to  be  feared  is,  what  is  technically  called  a  rising 
of  the  haunches ;  and  to  avoid  this  it  might  be  necessary,  where  large 
domes  were  attempted,  to  adopt  a  form  more  nearly  conical  than  that 
used  at  Mycenae.  This  might  be  a  less  pleasing  architectural  feature, 
but  it  is  constructively  a  better  one  than  the  form  of  the  radiating 
domes  we  generally  employ. 

It  is  certainly  to  be  regretted  that  more  of  the  decorative  features 
of  this  early  style  have  not  been  discovered.  They  differ  so  entirely 
from  anything  else  in  Greece,  and  are  so  purely  Asiatic  in  form,  that 
it  would  be  exceedingly  interesting  to  be  able  to  restore  a  complete 
decoration  of  any  sort.  In  all  the  parts  hitherto  brought  to  light,  an 
Ionic-like  scroll  is  repeated  in  every  part  and  over  every  detail,  rather 
rudely  executed,  but  probably  originally  heightened  by  color.  Its 
counterparts  are  found  in  Assyria  and  at  Persepolis,  but  nowhere 
else  in  Greece. V 

The  Pelasgic  races  soon  learnt  to  adopt  for  their  doorways  the 
more   pleasing  curvilinear  form  with  which  they  were  already 

familiar  from  their  interiors.  The 


annexed  illustration  (Woodcut  No. 
124)  from  a  gateway  at  Thoricus, 
in  Attica,  serves  to  show  its  sim- 
plest and  earliest  form ;  and  the 
illustration  (Woodcut  No.  127) 
from  Assos,  in  Asia  Minor,  of  a 
far  more  modern- date,  shows  the 
most  complicated  form  it  took  in 


124.  Gateway  at  Thoricus.    (FromDod-     ancicnt  times.   In  this  last  mstance 

well's  "Greece.")  .  ,  t    i        •  i 

it  IS  merely  a  discharging  arch, 
and  so  little  fitted  for  the  purpose  to  which  it  is  applied,  that  we  can 
only  suppose  that  its  adoption  arose  from  a  strong  predilection  for 
this  shape. 

Another  illustration  of  Pelasgic  masonry  is  found  at  Delos  (Wood- 
cut No.  125),  consisting  of  a  roof  formed  by  two  arch  stones,  at  a 
certain  angle  to  one  another,  similar  to  the  plan  adopted  in  Egypt, 
and  is  further  interesting  as  being  associated  with  capitals  of  pillars 
formed  of  the  front  part  of  bulls,  as  in  Assyria,  pointing  again  to  the 
intimate  connection  that  existed  between  Greece  and  Asia  at  this  early 
period  of  the  former's  history. 


'  The  same  scroll  exists  at  New  I  near  Malta,  and  generally  wherever 
Grange  in  Ireland,  in  the  island  of  Gozo  |  chambered  tumuli  are  found. 


Bk.  hi.  Ch.  I. 


PELASGIC  ART. 


237 


In  all  these  instances  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  so  much  want 
of  knowledge  that  led  these  early  builders  to  adopt  the  horizontal  in 
preference  to  the  radi- 
ating principle,  as  a 
conviction  of  its  great- 
er durability,  as  well, 
perhaps,  as  a  certain 
predilection  for  an 
ancient  mode. 

In  the  construction 
of  their  walls  they  ad- 
hered, as  a  mere  matter 
of  taste,  to  forms  which 
they  must  have  known 
to  be  inferior  to  others. 
In  the  example,  for  in- 
stance, of  a  wall  in  the 
Peloponnesus  (Woodcut  No.  126),  we  find  the  polygonal  masonry  of 
an  earlier  age  actually  placed  upon  as  perfect  a  specimen  built  in 
regular  courses,  or  what  is  technically  called  ashlar  work,  as  any 
to  be  found  in  Greece ;  and  on 
the  other  side  of  the  gateway 
at  Assos  (Woodcut  No.  127) 
there  exists  a  semicircular  arch, 
shown  by  the  dotted  lines, 
which  is  constructed  horizon- 
tally, and  could  only  have  been 
copied  from  a  radiating  arch. 

Their  city  walls  are  chiefly 

remarkable  for  the  size   of  the       126.   Wall  in  Peloponnesus.   (From  Blouet's 

blocks  of  stone  used,  and  for  the  " ^^"^^^^ ^"  ^^'^^^''^ 

beauty  with  which  their  irregular  joints  and  courses  are  fitted  into 
one  another.  Like  most  fortifications,  they  are  generally  devoid  of 
ornament,  the  only  architectural  features  being  the  openings.  These 
are  interesting,  as  showing  the  steps  by  which  a  peculiar  form  of 
masonry  was  perfected,  and  which,  in  after  ages,  led  to  important 
architectural  results. 

One  of  the  most  primitive  of  these  buildings  is  a  nameless  ruin 
existing  near  Missolonghi  (Woodcut  No.  128).  In  it  the  sides  of  the 
opening  are  straight  for  the  whole  height,  and,  though  making  a  very 
stable  form  of  opening,  it  is  one  to  which  it  is  extremely  difiicult  to  fit 
doors,  or  to  close  by  any  known  means.  It  was  this  difiiculty  that  led 
to  the  next  expedient  adopted  of  inserting  a  lintel  at  a  certain  height, 
and  making  the  jambs  more  perpendicular  below,  and  more  sloping 
above.    This  method  is  already  exemplified  in  the  tomb  of  Atreus 


125.   Arch  at  Delos.   (From  Stuart's  "Athens.") 


238 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


(Woodcut  No.  122),  and  in  the  Gate  of  the  Lions  at  Mycenae  (Wood- 
cut No.  129)  ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  clear  whether  the  pediments  were 

always  filled  up  with 
sculpture,  as  in  this 
instance,  or  left  open. 
In  the  walls  of  a  town 
they  were  probably 
always  closed,  but  left 
open  in  a  chamber. 
In  the  gate  at  Mycenae 
the  two  lions  stand 
against  an  altar  ^ 
shaped  like  a  pillar, 
of  a  form  found  only 
in  Lycia,  in  which 
the  round  ends  of 
the   timbers   of  the 


Gateway  at  Assos.   (From  Texier's  "Asie  Mineure.") 


roof  are  shown  as  if  projecting  into  the  frieze. 

These  are  slight  remains,  it  must  be  confessed,  from  which  to 
reconstruct  an  art  which  had  so  much  influence  on  the  civilization  of 


128.  Doorway  at  Missolonghi.  (From  Dodwell.) 


129.    Gate  of  Lions.  Mycense. 


Greece;  but  they  are  sufficient  for  the  archaeologist,  as  the  existence 
of  a  few  fossil  fragments  of  the  bones  of  an  elephant  or  a  tortoise 
suffice  to  prove  the  pre-existence  of  those  animals  wherever  they  have 
been  found,  and  enable  the  palaeontologist  to  reason  upon  them  with 


J  It  is  to  be  resjrptted  that  no  cast  of 
these,  the  oldest  sculptures  of  their  class 
in  existence,  has  reached  this  country. 
One  is  said  to  exist  at  Berlin,  but  it  is 
inaccessible  to  science.    The  drawings 


hitherto  made  of  them  are  so  inexact 
that  it  is  impossible  to  reason  on  them, 
whilst  as  types  of  a  style  they  are  among 
the  most  interesting  known  to  exist  any- 
where. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  I. 


PELASGIC  ART. 


239 


almost  as  much  certainty  as  if  he  saw  them  in  a  menagerie.  Nor  is  it 
difficult  to  see  why  the  remnants  are  so  few.  When  Homer  describes 
the  imaginary  dwelling  of  Alcinous  —  which  he  meant  to  be  typical  of 
a  perfect  palace  in  his  day  —  he  does  not  speak  of  its  construction  or 
solidity,  nor  tell  us  how  symmetrically  it  was  arranged  ;  but  he  is 
lavish  of  his  praise  of  its  brazen  walls,  its  golden  doors  with  their 
silver  posts  and  lintels  — just  as  the  writers  of  the  Books  of  Kings  and 
Chronicles  praise  the  contemporary  temple  or  palace  of  Solomon  for 
similar  metallic  splendor. 

The  palace  of  Menelaus  is  described  by  the  same  author  as  full  of 
brass  and  gold,  silver  and  ivory.  It  was  resplendent  as  the  sun  and 
moon,  and  appeared  to  the  eye  of  Telemachus  like  the  mansion  of 
Jupiter  himself. 

No  temples  are  mentioned  by  Homer,  nor  by  any  early  writer;  but 
the  funereal  rites  celebrated  in  honor  of  Patroclus,  as  described  in  the 
XXin.  Book  of  the  Iliad,  and  the  mounds  still  existing  on  the  Plains 
of  Troy,  testify  to  the  character  of  the  people  whose  manners  and 
customs  he  was  describing,  and  would  alone  be  sufficient  to  convince 
us  that,  except  in  their  tombs,  we  should  find  little  to  commemorate 
their  previous  existence. 

The  subject  is  interesting,  and  deserves  far  more  attention  than 
has  hitherto  been  bestowed  upon  it,  and  more  space  than  can  be 
devoted  to  it  here.  Not  only  is  this  art  the  art  of  people  who  warred 
before  Troy,  but  our  knowledge  of  it  reveals  to  us  a  secret  which 
otherwise  might  for  ever  have  remained  a  mystery.  The  religion  of 
the  Homeric  poems  is  essentially  Anthropic  and  Ancestral  —  in  other 
words,  of  Turanian  origin,  with  hardly  a  trace  of  Aryan  feeling 
running  through  it.  When  we  know  that  the  same  was  the  case 
with  the  arts  of  those  days,  we  feel  that  it  could  not  well  be 
otherwise ;  but  what  most  excites  our  wonder  is  the  power  of  the 
poet,  whose  song,  describing  the  manners  and  feelings  of  an  extinct 
race,  was  so  beautiful  as  to  cause  its  adoption  as  a  gospel  by  a  people 
of  another  race,  tincturing  their  religion  to  the  latest  hour  of  theii 
existence. 

We  have  very  little  means  of  knowing  how  long  this  style  of  art 
lasted  in  Greece.  The  treasury  built  by  Myron  king  of  Sicyon  at 
Olympia  about  650  b.c.  seems  to  have  been  of  this  style,  in  so  far  as 
we  can  judge  of  it  by  the  description  of  Pausanias.i  It  consisted  of 
two  chambers,  one  ornamented  in  the  Doric,  one  in  the  Ionic  style,  not 
apparently  with  pillars,  but  with  that  kind  of  decoration  which  appears 
at  that  period  to  have  been  recognized  as  peculiar  to  each.  But  the 
entire  decorations  seem  to  have  been  of  brass,  the  weight  of  metal  em- 
ployed being  recorded  in  an  inscription  on  the  building.    The  earliest 


1  Pausanias,  vi.  19. 


240 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


example  of  a  Doric  temple  that  we  know  of  —  that  of  Corinth  —  would 
appear  to  belong  to  very  nearly  the  same  age,  so  that  the  7th  century 
B.C.  may  probably  be  taken  as  the  period  when  the  old  Turanian  form 
of  Pelasgic  art  gave  way  before  the  sterner  and  more  perfect  creations 
of  a  purer  Hellenic  design.  Perhaps  it  might  be  more  correct  to  say 
that  the  Hellenic  history  of  Greece  commenced  with  the  Olympiads 
(B.C.  776),  but  before  that  kingdon  bloomed  into  perfection  an  older 
civilization  had  passed  away,  leaving  little  beyond  a  few  tombs  and 
works  of  public  utility  as  records  of  its  prior  existence.  It  left,  how- 
ever, an  undying  influence  which  can  be  traced  through  every  subse- 
quent stage  of  Grecian  history,  which  gave  form  to  that  wonderful 
artistic  development  of  art,  the  principal  if  not  the  only  cause  of  the 
unrivalled  degree  of  perfection  to  which  it  subsequently  attained. 


CHAPTER  II. 
HELLENIC  GREECE. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  ORDERS. 

THE  culminating  j^eriod  of  the  Pelasgic  civilization  of  Greece  was  at 
the  time  of  the  war  with  Troy — the  last  great  military  event  of  that 
age,  and  the  one  which  seems  to  have  closed  the  long  and  intimate 
connection  of  the  Greek  Pelasgians  with  their  cognate  races  in  Asia. 

Sixty  years  later  the  irruption  of  the  Thessalians,  and  twenty  years 
after  that  event  the  return  of  the  Heracleidae,  closed,  in  a  political 
sense,  that  chapter  in  history,  and  gave  rise  to  what  may  be  styled  the 
Hellenic  civilization,  which  proved  the  great  and  true  glory  of  Greece. 

Four  centuries,  however,  elapsed,  which  may  appropriately  be 
called  the  dark  ages  of  Greece ;  before  the  new  seed  bore  fruit,  at  least 
in  so  far  as  art  is  concerned.  These  ages  produced,  it  is  true,  the  laws 
of  Lycurgus,  a  characteristic  effort  of  a  truly  Aryan  race,  conferring  as 
they  did  on  the  people  who  made  them  that  power  of  self-government, 
and  capacity  for  republican  institutions,  which  gave  them  such 
stability  at  home  and  so  much  power  abroad,  but  which  were  as 
inimical  to  the  softer  glories  of  the  fine  arts  in  Sparta  as  they  have 
proved  elsewhere. 

When,  after  this  long  night,  architectural  art  reappeared,  it  was  at 
Corinth,  under  the  Cypselidae,  a  race  of  strongly-marked  Asiatic  ten- 
dencies ;  but  it  had  in  the  meantime  undergone  so  great  a  transforma- 
tion as  to  wellnigh  bewilder  us.  On  its  reappearance  it  was  no  longer 
characterized  by  the  elegant  and  ornate  art  of  Mycenae  and  the  cognate 

VOT..  I.  — 16 


242 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


forms  of  Asiatic  growth,  but  had  assumed  the  rude,  bold  proportions  of 
Egyptian  art,  and  Avith  ahnost  more  than  Egyptian  massiveness. 

Doric  Temples  in  Greece. 

The  age  of  the  Doric  temple  at  Corinth  is  not,  it  is  true,  satis- 
factorily determined  ;  but  the  balance  of  evidence  would  lead  us  to 
believe  that  it  belongs  to  the  age  of  Cypselus,  or  about  650  b.  c.  The 
pillars  are  less  than  four  diameters  in  height,  and  the  architrave  —  the 
only  "part  of  the  superstructure  that  now  remains  —  is  proportionately 
heavy.  It  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  most  massive  specimens  of  architec- 
ture existing,  more  so  than  even  its  rock-cut  prototype  at  Beni  Hassan, ^ 
from  which  it  is  most  indubitably  copied.  As  a  work  of  art,  it  fails 
from  excess  of  strength,  a  fault  common  to  most  of  the  efforts  of  a  rude 
people,  ignorant  of  the  true  resources  of  art,  and  striving,  by  the 
expression  of  physical  power  alone,  to  attain  its  objects. 

Next  in  age  to  this  is  the  little  temple  at  ^Egina.^  Its  date,  too, 
is  unknown,  though,  judging  from  the  cliaracter  of  its  sculpture,  it 
probably  belongs  to  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  before  Christ. 

We  know  tliat  Athens  ad  a  great  temple  on  the  Acropolis,  con- 
temporary with  these,  and  the  frusta  of  its  columns  still  remain,  which, 
after  its  destruction  by  the  Persians,  were  built  into  the  Avails  of  the 
citadel.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  all  the  principal  cities  of 
Greece  had  temples  commensurate  with  their  dignity  before  the  Per- 
sian War.  Many  of  these  were  destroyed  during  that  struggle ;  but  it 
also  happened  then,  as  in  France  and  England  in  the  12th  and  13th 
centuries,  that  the  old  temples  were  thought  unworthy  of  the  national 
greatness,  and  of  that  feeling  of  exaltation  arising  from  the  successful 


If  the  examples  at  Beni  Hassan  and 


131.   Capital  in  Temple  at  Karnac. 
E.  Falkener.) 


(From 


elsewhere  are  not  considered  sufficient 
to  settle  the  question,  it  will  be  difficult 
to  refuse  the  evidence  of  this  one  (Wood- 
cut No.  131)  taken  from  the  southern 
temple  at  Karnac,  built  in  the  age  of 
Thothmosis  III.  and  Amenophis  III.  — 
say  1600  years  before  Christ,  or  1000  years 
before  the  earliest  Grecian  example 
known.  In  this  instance  the  abacus  is 
separated  from  the  shaft;  there  is  a  bold 
echinus  and  a  beaded  necking;  in  fact  all 
tlie  members  of  the  Grecian  order,  only 
wanting  the  elegance  wliich  the  Greeks 
added  to  it. 

In  the  memoir  by  Mr.  Falkener  ("  Mu- 
seum of  Classical  Antiquities,"  vol.  i.  p. 
87),  from  which  the  woodcut  is  bor- 
rowed, 27  proto-Doric  columns  are  enu- 
merated as  still  existing  in  eight  dif- 
ferent buildings,  ranging  from  the  Third 
Cataract  to  Lower  Egypt. 

2  The  dimensions  are  94  feet  by  45, 
covering  consequently  only  4230  feet. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


DORIC  TEMPLES. 


24a 


result  of  the  greatest  of  their  wars,  so  that  almost  all  those  which 
remained  were  pulled  down  or  rebuilt.  The  consequence  is,  tliat 
nearly  all  the  great  temples  now  found  in  Greece  were  built  in  the 
forty  or  fifty  years  which  succeeded  the  defeat  of  the  Persians  at 
Salamis  and  Platsea. 


132.   Temple  at  ^gina  restored.  No  scale. 


The  oldest  temple  of  this  class  is  that  best  known  as  the  Theseium, 
or  Temple  of  Theseus,  at  Athens,  though  it  is  nearly  certain  that  it 
ought  more  properly  to  be  considered  the  temple  of  the  god  Mars.  It 
constitutes  a  link  between  the  archaic  and  the  perfect  age  of  Grecian 
art ;  more  perfect  than  the  temple  at  JEgina  or  any  that  preceded  it, 
but  falling  short  of  the  perfection  of  the  Parthenon,  its  near  neighbor 
both  in  locality  and  date. 

Of  all  the  great  temples,  the  best  and  most  celebrated  is  the  Par- 
thenon, the  only  octastyle  Doric  temple  in  Greece,  and  in  its  own  class 
undoubtedly  the  most  beautiful  building  in  the  world.  It  is  true  it 
has  neither  the  dimensions  nor  the  wondrous  expression  of  power  and 
eternity  inherent  in  Egyptian  temples,  nor  has  it  the  variety  and 
poetry  of  the  Gothic  cathedral ;  but  for  intellectual  beauty,  for  perfec- 
tion of  proportion,  for  beauty  of  detail,  and  for  the  exquisite  perception 
of  the  highest  and  most  recondite  principles  of  art  ever  applied  to 
architecture,  it  stands  utterly  and  entirely  alone  and  unrivalled  —  the 
glory  of  Greece  and  a  reproach  to  the  rest  of  the  world. 

Kext  in  size  and  in  beauty  to  this  was  the  great  hexastyle  temple 
of  Jupiter  at  Olympia,  finished  two  years  later  than  the  Parthenon. 
Its  dimensions  were  nearly  the  same,  but  having  only  six  pillars  in 
front  instead  of  eight,  as  in  the  Parthenon,  the  proportions  were 
different,  this  temple  being  95  ft.  by  230,  the  Parthenon  101  ft. 
by  227. 

To  the  same  age  belongs  the  exquisite  little  Temple  of  Apollo 


244 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


Epicurius  at  Bassae  (47  ft.  by  125),  the  Temple  of  Minerva  at  Sunium, 
the  greater  temple  at  Khamnus,  the  Propylsea  at  Athens,  and  indeed 
all  that  is  greatest  and  most  beautiful  in  the  architecture  of  Greece. 
The  temple  of  Ceres  at  Eleusis  also  was  founded  and  designed  at  this 
period,  but  its  execution  belongs  to  a  later  date. 

Doric  Temples  in  Sicily. 

Owing  probably  to  some  local  peculiarity,  which  we  have  not  now 
the  means  of  explaining,  the  Dorian  colonies  of  Sicily  and  Magna 
Graecia  seem  to  have  possessed,  in  the  days  of  their  prosperity,  a 
greater  number  of  temples,  and  certainly  retain  the  traces  of  many 
more,  than  were  or  are  to  be  found  in  any  of  the  great  cities  of  the 
mother  country.  The  one  city  of  Selinus  alone  possesses  six,  in  two 
groups, — three  in  the  citadel  and  three  in  the  city.  Of  these  the  oldest 
is  the  central  one  of  the  first-named  group.  Its  sculptures,  first  dis- 
covered by  Messrs.  Angel  and  Harris,  indicate  an  age  only  slightly  sub- 
sequent to  the  foundation  of  the  colony,  b.  c.  636,  and  therefore  probably 
nearly  contemporary  with  the  example  above  mentioned  at  Corinth. 
The  most  modern  is  the  great  octastyle  temple,  which  seems  to  have 
been  left  unfinished  at  the  time  of  the  destruction  of  the  city  by  the 
Carthaginians,  b.  c.  410.  It  measured  375  ft.  by  166,  and  was  conse- 
quently very  much  larger  than  any  temple  of  its  class  in  Greece. 
The  remaining  four  range  between  these  dates,  and  therefore  form 
a  tolerably  perfect  chronometric  series  at  that  time  when  the  arts 
of  Greece  itself  fail  us.  The  inferiority,  however,  of  provincial  art, 
as  compared  with  that  of  Greece  itself,  prevents  us  from  applying 
such  a  test  with  too  much  confidence  to  the  real  history  of  the  art, 
though  it  is  undoubtedly  valuable  as  a  secondary  illustration. 

At  Agrigentum  there  are  three  Doric  temples,  two  small  hexastyles, 
whose  age  may  be  about  500  to  480  b.  c,  and  one  great  exceptional 
example,  differing  in  its  arrangements  from  all  the  Grecian  temples  of 
the  age.  Its  dimensions  are  360  feet  long  by  173  broad,  and  conse- 
quently very  nearly  the  same  as  those  of  the  great  Temple  of  Selinus 
just  alluded  to.  Its  date  is  perfectly  known,  as  it  was  commenced  by 
Theron  b.  c.  480,  and  left  unfinished  seventy-five  years  afterwards, 
when  the  city  was  destroyed  by  the  Carthaginians. 

At  Syracuse  there  still  exist  the  ruins  of  a  very  beautiful  temple  of 
this  age;  and  at  Egesta  are  remains  of  another  in  a  much  more  perfect 
state. 

Paestum,  in  Magna  Graecia,  boasts  of  the  most  magnificent  group  of 
temples  after  that  at  Agrigentum.  One  is  a  very  beautiful  hexastyle, 
belonging  probably  to  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  b.  c,  built  in  a 
bold  and  very  pure  style  of  Doric  architecture,  and  still  retains  the 
greater  part  of  its  internal  columnar  arrangement. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  11. 


IONIC  TEMPLES. 


245 


The  other  two  are  more  modern,  and  far  less  pure  both  in  plan 
and  in  detail,  one  having  nine  columns  at  each  end,  the  central  pillars 
of  which  are  meant  to  correspond  with  an  internal  range  of  pillars, 
supporting  the  ridge  of  the  roof.  The  other,  though  of  a  regular 
form,  is  so  modified  by  local  peculiarities,  so  corrupt,  in  fact,  as 
hardly  to  deserve  being  ranked  with  the  beautiful  order  which  it 
most  resembles. 

Ionic  Temples. 

We  have  even  fewer  materials  for  the  history  of  the  Ionic  order  in 
Greece  than  we  have  for  that  of  the  Doric.  The  recent  discoveries 
in  Assyria  have  proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  Ionic  was  even  more 
essentially  an  introduction  from  Asia  than  the  Doric  was  from  Egypt : 
the  only  question  is,  when  it  was  brought  into  Greece.  My  own  im- 
pression is,  that  it  existed  there  in  one  form  or  another  from  the 
earliest  ages,  but  owing  to  its  slenderer  proportions,  and  the  greater 
quantity  of  wood  used  in  its  construction,  the  examples  may  have 
perished,  so  that  nothing  is  now  known  to  exist  which  can  lay  claim 
to  even  so  great  an  antiquity  as  the  Persian  War. 

The  oldest  example,  probably,  was  the  temple  on  the  Ilissus,  now 
destroyed,  dating  from  about  484  b.  c.  ;  next  to  this  is  the  little  gem 
of  a  temple  dedicated  to  Nike  Apteros,  or  the  Wingless  Victory,  built 
about  fifteen  years  later,  in  front  of  the  Propylsea  at  Athens.  The  last 
and  most  perfect  of  all  the  examples  of  this  order  is  the  Erechtheium, 
on  the  Acropolis  ;  its  date  is  apparently  about  420  b.c,  the  great  epoch 
of  Athenian  art.  Nowhere  did  the  exquisite  taste  and  skill  of  the 
Athenians  show  themselves  to  greater  advantage  than  here  ;  for  though 
every  detail  of  the  order  may  be  traced  back  to  Nineveh  or  Persej^olis, 
all  are  so  purified,  so  imbued  with  purely  Grecian  taste  and  feeling, 
that  they  have  become  essential  parts  of  a  far  more  beautiful  order 
than  ever  existed  in  the  land  in  which  they  had  their  origin. 

The  largest,  and  perhaps  the  finest,  of  Grecian  Ionic  temples  was 
that  built  about  a  century  afterwards  at  Tegea,  in  Arcadia  —  a  regular 
peripteral  temple  of  considerable  dimensions,  but  the  existence  of 
wiiich  is  now  known  only  from  the  description  of  Pausanias.^ 

As  in  the  case,  however,  of  the  Doric  order,  it  is  not  in  Greece 
itself  that  we  find  either  the  greatest  number  of  Ionic  temples  or 
those  most  remarkable  for  size,  but  in  the  colonies  in  Asia  Minor, 
and  more  especially  in  Ionia,  whence  the  order  most  properly  takes 
its  name. 

That  an  Ionic  order  existed  in  Asia  Minor  before  the  Persian 
War  is  quite  certain,  but  all  examples  perished  in  that  memorable 
struggle;  and  when  it  subsequently  reappeared,  the  order  had  lost 


*  Pausanias,  viii.  45. 


246 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


much  of  its  purely  Asiatic  character,  and  assumed  certain  forms  and 
tendencies  borrowed  from  the  simpler  and  purer  Doric  style. 

If  any  temple  in  the  Asiatic  Greek  colonies  escaped  destruction  in 
the  Persian  wars,  it  was  that  of  Juno  at  Samos.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  built  by  Polycrates,  and  appears  to  have  been  of  the  Doric  order. 
The  ruins  now  found  there  are  of  the  Ionic  order,  346  ft.  by  190  ft., 
and  must  have  succeeded  the  first  mentioned.  The  apparent  archaisms 
in  the  form  of  the  bases,  etc.  which  have  misled  antiquarians,  are 
merely  Eastern  forms  retained  in  spite  of  Grecian  influence. 

More  remarkable  even  than  this  was  the  celebrated  Temple  of 
Diana  at  Ephesus,  said  by  Pliny  to  have  been  425  ft.  long  by  220  ft. 
wide.  Recent  excavations  on  the  site,  however,  carried  out  by  Mr.  T. 
Wood,  prove  that  these  dimensions  apply  only  to  the  platform  on  which 
it  stood.  The  temple  itself,  measured  from  the  outside  of  the  angle 
pillars,  was  only  348  ft.  by  164,  making  the  area  57,072  ft.,  or  about 
the  average  dimensions  of  our  mediaeval  cathedrals. 

Besides  these,  there  was  a  splendid  decastyle  temple,  dedicated  to 
Apollo  Didymaeus,  at  Miletus,  156  ft.  wide  by  295  ft.  in  length ;  an 
octastyle  at  Sardis,  261  ft.  by  144  ft. ;  an  exquisitely  beautiful,  though 
small  hexastyle,  at  Priene,  122  ft.  by  64  ft. ;  and  another  at  Teos. 
and  smaller  examples  elsewhere,  besides  many  others  which  have  no 
doubt  perished. 

Corinthian  Temples. 

Tlie  Corinthian  order  is  as  essentially  borrowed  from  the  bell- 
shaped  capitals  of  Egypt  as  the  Doric  is  from  their  oldest  pillars. 
Like  everything  they  touched,  the  Greeks  soon  rendered  it  their  own 
by  the  freedom  and  elegance  with  which  they  treated  it.  The  acanthus- 
leaf  with  which  they  adorned  it  is  essentially  Grecian,  and  we  must 
suppose  that  it  had  been  used  by  them  as  an  ornament  either  in  their 
metal  or  wood  work,  long  before  they  adopted  it  in  stone  as  an  archi- 
tectural feature. 

As  in  everything  else,  however,  the  Greeks  could  not  help  be- 
traying in  this  also  the  Asiatic  origin  of  their  art,  and  the  Egyptian 
order  with  them  was  soon  wedded  to  the  Ionic,  whose  volutes  became 
an  essential  though  subdued  part  of  this  order.  It  is  in  fact  a 
composite  order,  made  up  of  the  bell-shaped  capitals  of  the  Egyptians 
and  the  spiral  of  the  Assyrians,  and  adopted  by  the  Greeks  at  a  time 
when  national  distinctions  were  rapidly  disappearing  and  when  true 
and  severer  art  was  giving  place  to  love  of  variety.  At  that  time  also 
mere  ornament  and  carving  were  supplanting  the  purer  class  of  forms 
and  the  higher  aspirations  of  sculpture  with  which  the  Greeks 
ornamented  their  temples  in  their  best  days. 

In  Greece  the  order  does  not  appear  to  have  been  introduced,  or  at 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II.  CORINTHIAN  TEMPLES.  247 

least  generally  used,  before  tlie  age  of  Alexander  the  Great ;  the 
oldest  authentic  example,  and  also  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  being  the 
Clioragic  Monument  of  Lysicrates  (b.  c.  335),  which,  notwithstanding 
the  smallness  of  its  dimensions,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  works  of 
art  of  the  merely  ornamental  class  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the 
world.  A  simpler  example,  but  by  no  means  so  beautiful,  is  that  of 
the  porticoes  of  the  small  octagonal  building  commonly  called  the 
Tower  of  the  Winds  at  Athens.  The  largest  example  in  Greece  of  the 
Corinthian  order  is  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Olympius  at  Athens.  This, 
however,  may  almost  be  called  a  Roman  building,  though  on  Grecian 
soil — having  been  commenced  in  its  present  form  under  Antioclius  Epi- 
phanes,  in  the  second  century  b.  c,  by  the  Roman  architect  Cossutius, 
and  only  finished  by  Hadrian,  to  whom  probably  we  may  ascribe  the 
greatest  part  of  what  now  remains.  Its  dimensions  are  171  ft.  by  354 
ft.,  or  nearly  those  of  the  interior  of  the  great  Hypostyle  Hall  at 
Karnac ;  and  from  the  number  of  its  columns,  tlieir  size  and  their 
beauty,  it  must  have  been  when  complete  the  most  beautiful  Corin- 
thian temple  of  the  ancient  world. 

Judging,  howevei',  from  some  fragments  found  among  tlie  Ionic 
temples  of  Asia  Minor,  it  appears  that  the  Corinthian  order  was 
introduced  there  before  we  find  any  trace  of  it  in  Greece  Proper. 
Indeed,  d  priori^  we  might  expect  that  its  introduction  into  Greece 
Avas  part  of  that  reaction  which  the  elegant  and  luxurious  Asiatics 
exercised  on  the  severer  and 
more  manly  inhabitants  of 
European  Greece,  and  which 
was  in  fact  the  main  cause 
of  their  subjection,  first  to 
the  Macedonians,  and  finally 
beneath  the  iron  yoke  of 
Rome.  As  used  by  the  Asi- 
atics, it  seems  to  have  arisen 
from  the  introduction  of  the 
bell-shaped  capital  of  the 
Egyptians,  to  which  they  applied  the  acanthus-leaf,  sometimes  in 
conjunction  with  the  honeysuckle  ornament  of  the  time,  as  in  Wood- 
cut No.  133,  and  on  other  and  later  occasions  together  with  the 
volutes  of  the  same  order,  the  latter  combination  being  the  one  which 
ultimately  prevailed  and  became  the  typical  form  of  the  Corinthian 
capitals. 

Dimensions  of  Greek  Temples. 

Although  differing  so  essentially  in  plan,  the  general  dimensions 
of  the  larger  temples  of  the  Greeks  were  very  similar  to  those  of  the 


133.    Ancient  Corinthian  Capital.  (From 
Brancliidai.) 


248 


GKECIAN  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Part  L 


mediaeval  cathedrals,  and  although  they  never  reached  the  altitude  of 
their  modern  rivals,  their  cubic  dimensions  were  probably  in  about 
the  same  ratio  of  proportion. 

The  following  table  gives  the  approximate  dimensions,  rejecting 
fractions,  of  the  eight  largest  and  best  known  examples  :  — 


Jimo,  at  Samos  .    .  . 

.    .    346  feet  long 

190  feet  wide 

=  65,740  feet. 

Jupiter,  at  Agrigentnm 

.    .  360 

173  " 

=  62,280  " 

Apollo,  at  Brancliidje 

.    .  362 

168 

=  60,816  " 

Jupiter,  at  Atliens 

.    .  354 

55 

171 

=  60,534  " 

Diana,  at  Ephesus  .  . 

.    .  348 

164 

=  57,072  " 

Didymseus,  at  Miletus 

.    .  295 

55 

156 

=  45,020  " 

Cybele,  at  Sardis   .  . 

.    .  261 

55 

144 

=  37,884  " 

Parthenon,  at  Atliens 

.    .  228 

55 

101 

=  23,028  " 

There  may  be  some 

slight  discrepancies  in  this 

table  from  the 

figures  quoted  elsewhere,  and  incorrectness  arising  from  some  of 
the  temples  being  measured  on  the  lowest  step  and  others,  as  the 
Parthenon,  on  the  highest ;  but  it  is  sufficient  for  comparison,  which 
is  all  that  is  attempted  in  its  compilation. 

Doric  Order.' 

The  Doric  was  the  order  which  the  Greeks  especially  loved  and 
cultivated  so  as  to  make  it  most  exclusively  their  own  ;  and,  as  used 


1  The  fact  of  a  proto-Doric  order 
having  existed  in  Egypt  a  thousand  years 
before  it  is  found  in  Greece  ought  to 
suffice  as  explaining  the  origin  of  the 
style.  Still  it  may  be  worth  while  to  try 
and  make  this  a  little  clearer,  as  those 
who  are  not  familiar  with  examples  of 


this  mode  of  building,  or  have  not  prac- 
tically employed  it  —  as  it  has  been  my 
fate  to  do  —  feel  a  difficulty  in  realizing 
how  a  brick  pier  came  to  be  used  with  a 
wooden  superstructure. 

The  annexed  woodcut  illustrates  a 
mode  of  roofing  very  usually  employed 


134.   Diagram  of  Doi'ic  construction,  as  used  in  the  East. 


in  the  East  at  this  day.  Generally  a 
square  pier  of  brickwork  is  employed; 
and  then  an  abacus  of  wood  or  tiles  is 
indispensable  to  distribute  the  pres- 
sure of  a  narrow  beam  over  a  wider 
pier.  When  the  pillar  is  made  octag- 
onal  this   is   even   more  necessary. 


Where  a  wooden  post  is  employed 
it  is  always  of  the  same  thickness 
as  the  beam,  and  is  generally  mor- 
ticed into  it  ;  or  a  bracket  may  be 
employed,  and  is  particularly  ad- 
vantageous when  a  junction  takes 
place     between     two      lengtjis  of 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


DORIC  ORDER. 


249 


in  the  Parthenon,  it  certainly  is  as  complete  and  as  perfect  an  archi- 
tectural feature  as  any  style  can  boast  of.  When  first  introduced  from 
Egypt,  it,  as  before  stated,  partook  of  even  more  than  Egyptian 
solidity,  biit  by  degrees  became  attenuated  to  the  weak  and  lean  form 
of  the  Roman  order  of  the  same  name.  Woodcut  No.  135  illustrates 
the  three  stages  of  progress  from  the  oldest  example  at  Corinth  to  the 
order  as  used  in  the  time  of  Philip  at  Delos,  the  intermediate  being 
the  culminating  point  in  tlie  age  of  Pericles  :  the  first  is  4-47  diameters 
in  height,  the  next  6-025,  the  last  7  015;  and  if  the  table  were 
filled  up  with  all  the  other  examples,  the  gradual  attenuation  of  the 
shaft  would  very  nearly  give  the  relative  date  of  the  example.  This 
fact  is  in  itself  sufiicient  to  refute  the  idea  of  the  pillar  being  copied 
from  a  wooden  post,  as  in  that  case  it  would  have  been  slenderer  at 
first,  and  would  gradually  have  departed  from  the  wooden  form  as 
the  style  advanced.  This  is  the  case  in  all  carpentry  styles.  With 
the  Doric  order  the  contrary  takes  place.  The  earlier  the  example  the 
more  unlike  it  is  to  any  wooden  original.  As  the  masons  advanced 
In  skill  and  power  over  their  stone  material,  it  came  more  and  more 
to  resemble  posts  or  pillars  of  wood.  The  fact  appears  to  be  that, 
either  in  Egypt  or  in  early  Greece,  the  pillar  was  originally  a  pier  of 
brickwork,  or  of  rubble  masonry,  supporting  a  wooden  roof,  of  which 
the  architraves,  the  triglyphs,  and  the  various  parts  of  the  cornice,  all 
bore  traces  down  to  the  latest  period. 

Even  as  ordinarily  represented,  or  as  copied  in  this  country,  there 
is  a  degree  of  solidity  combined  with  elegance  in  this  order,  and  an 
exquisite  proportion  of  the  parts  to  one  another  and  to  the  work  they 
have  to  perform,  that  command  the  admiration  of  every  person  of 
taste ;  but,  as  used  in  Greece,  its  beauty  was  very  much  enhanced  by 
a  number  of  refinements  whose  existence  was  not  suspected  till  lately, 
and  even  now  cannot  be  detected  but  by  the  most  practised  eye. 


the  architrave.  But  even  then  it  is  only 
of  the  same  thickness  as  the  beam.  In 
fact  there  is  no  difficulty  in  recognizing 
the  difference  between  a  carpentry  and 
a  masonry  form.  An  abacus  is  as  absurd 
with  the  former  as  it  is  indispensable 
with  the  latter ;  and  of  course  those  who 
used  squared  timbers  for  the  roof  would 
not  employ  unhewn  trunks  of  trees  for 
the  supports. 

On  the  architrave  beam  rest  the  raft- 
ers, and  on  these  the  purlins  —  in  India 
generally  3  inches  square,  and  spaced  a 
foot  or  18  inches  apart,  according  to  the 
length  of  the  tiles  used.  Sometimes  one 
thickness  of  tiles  is  employed,  and  a  lay- 
er of  concrete  above;  sometimes  two, 
sometimes  three  thicknesses  of  tiles,  but 
the  timber  construction  is  the  same  in 


all  cases.  The  one  great  point  to  insist 
upon,  however,  is  that  an  abacus  never 
was  used,  and  never  could  have  been  sug> 
gested  from  a  timber  post  or  pillar.  Tim- 
ber forms  are  generally  very  easily 
traced,  as  they  are  in  the  roof^  but  not 
in  the  pillars  of  Doric  temples. 

The  base  which  was  afterwards  ap- 
plied by  the  Romans,  probably  was  sug- 
gested by  the  shoe,  which  in  certain  sit- 
uations is  a  necessary  part  of  a  wooden 
post;  but  the  origin  of  this  feature  is 
probably  to  be  found  in  Assyria,  though 
in  a  very  different  form  to  that  of  the 
Roman  order.  Its  absence  in  the  Grecian 
Doric  is  another  argument  in  favor  of  the 
masonry  origin  of  the  pillar  in  that  or- 
der. 


250 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


The  columns  were  at  first  assumed  to  be  bounded  by  straight  lines. 
It  is  now  found  that  they  have  an  etitasis,  or  convex  profile,  in  the 
Parthenon  to  the  extent  of  -^^^  of  the  whole  height,  and  are  outlined 


135.    Temple  at  Delos. 


Partlienon  at  Athens.      Temple  at  Corinth, 


by  a  very  delicate  hyperbolic  curve ;  it  is  true  this  can  hardly  be 
detected  by  the  eye  in  ordinary  positions,  but  the  want  of  it  gives 
that  rigidity  and  poverty  to  the  column  which  is  observable  in  modern 
examples.! 

In  like  manner,  the  architrave  in  all  temples  was  carried  upwards 
so  as  to  form  a  very  flat  arch,  just  sufiicient  to  correct  the  optical 
delusion  arising  from  the  interference  of  the  sloping  lines  of  the 


^  These  facts  have  all  been  fully  elu-  i  searches  on  the  Parthenon  and  other 
cidated  by  Mr.  Penrose  in  his  beautiful  |  temples  of  Greece,  published  by  the 
work  containing  the  results  of  his  re-  i  Dilettanti  Society. 


Bk.  111.  Cii.  II. 


JX)RIC  ORDER. 


251 


])ediinent.  This,  I  believe,  was  common  to  all  temples,  but  in  the 
Parthenon  the  curve  was  applied  to  the  sides  also,  though  from  what 
motive  it  is  not  so  easy  to  detect. 

Another  refinement  was  making  all  the  columns  slope  slightly 
inwards,  so  as  to  give  an  idea  of  strength  and  support  to  the  whole. 
Add  to  this,  that  all  the  curved  lines  used  were  either  hyperbolas  or 
parabolas.  With  one  exception  only,  no  circular  line  was  employed, 
nor  even  an  ellii)se.  Every  part  of  the  temple  was  also  arranged 
with  the  most  unbounded  care  and  accuracy,  and  every  detail  of  the 
masonry  was  carried  out  with  a  precision  and  beauty  of  execution 
which  is  almost  unrivalled,  and  it  may  be  added  that  the  material  of 
the  whole  was  the  purest  and  best  white  marble.  All  these  delicate 
adjustments,  this  exquisite  finish  and  attention  to  even  the  smallest 
details,  are  well  bestowed  on  a  design  in  itself  simple,  beautiful,  and 
appropriate.  They  combine  to  render  this  order,  as  found  in  the  best 
Greek  temples,  as  nearly  faultless  as  any  work  of  art  can  possibly  be, 
and  such  as  we  may  dwell  upon  with  the  most  unmixed  and  unvarying 
satisfaction. 

The  system  of  definite  proportion  which  the  Greeks  employed  in 
the  design  of  their  temples,  was  another  cause  of  the  effect  they  pro- 
duce even  on  uneducated  minds.  It  was  not  with  them  merely  that 
the  height  was  equal  to  the  width,  or  the  length  about  twice  the 
breadth;  but  every  part  was  proportioned  to  all  those  parts  with 
which  it  was  related,  in  some  such  ratio  as  1  to  6,  2  to  7,  3  to  8,  4  to  9, 
or  5  to  10,  etc.  As  the  scheme  advances  these  numbers  become  unde- 
sirably high.  In  this  case  they  reverted  to  some  such  simple  ratios 
as  4  to  5,  5  to  6,  6  to  7,  and  so  on. 

We  do  not  yet  quite  understand  the  process  of  reasoning  by  which 
the  Greeks  arrived  at  the  laws  which  guided  their  practice  in  this 
respect;  but  they  evidently  attached  the  utmost  importance  to  it, 
and  when  the  ratio  was  determined  upon,  they  set  it  out  with  such 
accuracy,  that  even  now  the  calculated  and  the  measured  dimensions 
seldom  vary  beyond  such  minute  fractions  as  can  only  be  expressed  in 
hundredths  of  an  inch. 

Though  the  existence  of  such  a  system  of  ratios  has  long  been 
suspected,  it  is  only  recently  that  any  measurements  of  Greek  temples 
have  been  made  with  suflicient  accuracy  to  enable  the  matter  to  be 
properly  investigated  and  their  existence  proved. i 

The  ratios  are  in  some  instances  so  recondite,  and  the  correlation 
of  the  parts  at  first  sight  so  apparently  remote,  that  many  would  be 


1  For  measurements  we  depend  on  Pen- 
rose, "Principles  of  Athenian  Architec- 
ture," etc.,  fol.;  and  Cockerell,  "The 
Temples  of  Egina  and  Bassse,"  Lond. 
1860.  The  details  of  the  system  were  first 


publicly  announced  by  Watkiss  Lloyd,  in 
a  paper  read  to  the  Institute  of  British 
Architects  in  1859:  afterwards  in  an  ap- 
pendix to  Mr.  Cockerell's  work,  and  in 
several  minor  publications. 


252 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


inclined  to  believe  they  were  more  fanciful  than  real.*  It  would, 
however,  be  as  reasonable  in  a  person  with  no  ear,  or  no  musical  edu- 
cation, to  object  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  complicated  concerted  piece  of 
music  experienced  by  those  differently  situated,  or  to  declare  that  the 
pain  musicians  feel  from  a  false  note  was  mere  affectation.  The  eyes 
of  the  Greeks  were  as  perfectly  educated  as  our  ears.  They  could 
appreciate  harmonies  which  are  lost  in  us,  and  were  offended  at  false 
quantities  which  our  duller  senses  fail  to  perceive.  But  in  spite  of 
ourselves,  we  do  feel  the  beauty  of  these  harmonic  relations,  though 
we  hardly  know  why;  and  if  educated  to  them,  we  might  acquire 
what  might  almost  be  considered  a  new  sense.  But  be  this  as  it 
may,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  a  great  deal  of  the  beauty  which 
all  feel  in  contemplating  the  architectural  productions  of  the  Greeks, 
arises  from  causes  such  as  these,  which  we  are  only  now  beginning 
to  appreciate. 

To  understand,  however,  the  Doric  order,  we  must  not  regard  it 
as  a  merely  masonic  form.  Sculpture  was  always  used,  or  intended  to 
be  used,  with  it.  The  Metopes  between  the  triglyphs,  the  pediments 
of  the  i^orticoes,  and  the  acroteria  or  pedestals  on  the  roof,  are  all 
unmeaning  and  useless  unless  filled  or  surmounted  with  sculptured 
figures.  Sculpture  is  indeed,  as  essential  a  part  of  this  order  as  the 
acanthus-leaves  and  ornaments  of  the  cornice  are  to  the  capitals  and 
entablature  of  the  Corinthian  order;  and  without  it,  or  without  its 

place  being  supplied  by 
painting,  we  are  merely 
looking  at  the  dead  skele- 
ton, the  mere  framework 
of  the  order,  without  the 
flesh  and  blood  that  gave 
it  life  and  purpose. 

It  is   when    all  these 
parts  are  combined  toge- 
ther, as  in  the  portico  of 
the  Parthenon  (Woodcut 
No.  136),   that   we  can 
understand  this  order  in  all  its  perfection ;  for  though  each  part  was 
beautiful  in  itself,  their  full  value  can  be  appreciated  only  as  parts 
of  a  great  w^hole. 

Another  essential  part  of  the  order,  too  often  overlooked,  is  the 


136.    The  rartheuoii.    Scale  50  It.  to  1  in. 


1  The  pyramid-building  kings  of 
Lower  Egypt  seem  to  have  had  some 
distinct  ideas  of  a  system  of  definite 
proportions  in  architectural  building, 
and  to  have  put  it  into  practice  in 
the  pyramid,  and  possibly  elsewhere,  but 


it  has  not  yet  been  sought  for  in  the  other 
buildings  of  that  age. 

At  times  I  cannot  help  suspecting  more 
affinity  to  have  existed  between  the  in- 
habitants of  Lower  Egypt  and  those  of 
Greece  than  is  at  first  sight  apparent. 


i^K.  III.  Ch.  II. 


IONIC  ORDER. 


253 


color,  which  was  as  integral  a  part  of  it  as  its  form.  Till  very  lately, 
it  was  denied  that  Greek  temples  were,  or  could  be,  painted :  the 
unmistakable  remains  of  color,  however,  that  have,  been  discovered 
in  almost  all  temples,  and  the  greater  knowledge  of  the  value 
and  use  of  it  which  now  prevails,  have  altered  public  opinion  very 
much  on  the  matter,  and  most  people  now  admit  that  some  color 
was  used,  though  few  are  agreed  as  to  the  extent  to  which  it  was 
carried. 

It  cannot  now  be  questioned  that  color  was  used  everywhere 
internally,  and  on  every  object.  Externally  too  it  is  generally  ad- 
mitted that  the  sculpture  was  painted  and  relieved  by  strongly 
colored  backgrounds ;  the  lacunaria,  or  recesses  of  the  roof,  were 
also  certainly  painted ;  and  all  the  architectural  mouldings,  which  at 
a  later  period  were  carved  in  relief,  have  been  found  to  retain  traces 
of  their  painted  ornaments. 

It  is  disputed  whether  the  echinus  or  carved  moulding  of  the 
capital  was  so  ornamented.  There  seems  little  doubt  but  that  it  was  • 
and  that  the  walls  of  the  cells  were  also  colored  throughout  and 
covered  with  paintings  illustrative  of  the  legends  and  attributes  of 
the  divinity  to  whom  the  temple  was  dedicated  or  of  the  purposes 
for  which  it  was  erected.  The  plane'  face  of  the  architrave  was  pro- 
bably left  white,  or  merely  ornamented  with  metal  shields  or  inscrip- 
tions, and  the  shafts  of  the  columns  appear  also  to  have  been  left  plain, 
or  merely  slightly  stained  to  tone  down  the  crudeness  of  the  white 
marble.  Generally  speaking,  all  those  parts  which  from  their  form 
or  position  were  in  any  degree  protected  from  the  rain  or  atmospheric 
influences  seem  to  have  been  colored ;  those  particularly  exposed,  to 
have  been  left  plain.  To  whatever  extent,  however,  painting  may 
have  been  carried,  these  colored  ornaments  were  as  essential  a  part 
of  the  Doric  order  as  the  carved  ornaments  were  of  the  Corinthian, 
and  made  it,  when  perfect,  a  richer  and  more  ornamental,  as  it  was  a 
more  solid  and  stable,  order  than  the  latter.  The  color  nowhere 
interfered  with  the  beauty  of  its  forms,  but  gave  it  that  richness  and 
amount  of  ornamentation  which  is  indispensable  in  all  except  the 
most  colossal  buildings,  and  a  most  valuable  adjunct  even  to  them. 

Ionic  Order. 

The  Ionic  order,  as  we  now  find  it,  is  not  without  some  decided 
advantages  over  the  Doric.  It  is  more  complete  in  itself  and  less 
dependent  on  sculpture.  Its  frieze  was  too  small  for  much  display  of 
human  life  and  action,  and  was  probably  usually  ornamented  with 
lines  of  animals,^  like  the  friezes  at  Persepolis.    But  the  frieze  of  the 


^  It  was  called  Zoophorus  {life  or  figure  bearer). 


254 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  I. 


little  temple  of  Nike  Apteros  is  brilliantly  ornamented  in  the  same 
style  as  those  of  the  Doric  order.  It  also  happened  that  those  details 
and  ornaments  which  were  only  painted  in  the  Doric,  were  carved  in 
the  Ionic  order,  and  remain  therefore  visible  to  the  present  day,  which 
gives  to  this  order  a  completeness  in  our  eyes  which  the  other  cannot 
boast  of.    Add  to  this  a  certain  degree  of  Asiatic  elegance  and  grace, 

and  the  whole  when  put 
■   together  makes  up  a  sin- 

gularly pleasing  architec- 
tural object.  But  not- 
withstanding these  advan- 
tages, the  Doric  order  will 
probably  always  be  ad- 
mitted to  be  superior,  as 
belonging  to  a  higher  class 
of  art,  and  because  all  its 
forms  and  details  are  bet- 
ter and  more  adapted  to 
their  purpose  than  those  of 
the  Ionic. 

The  principal  charac- 
teristic of  the  Ionic  order 
is  the  Pelasgic  or  Asiatic 
spiral,  here  called  a  volute, 
which,  notwithstanding  its 
elegance,  forms  at  best 
but  an  awkward  capital. 
The  Assyrian  honeysuckle 
below  this,  carved  as  it  is 
with  the  exquisite  feeling 
and  taste  which  a  Greek 
alone  knew  how  to  impart 
to  such  an  object,  forms  as 
elegant  an  architectural 
detail  as  is  anywhere  to 
be  found ;  and  whether 
used  as  the  necking  of  a 
column,  or  on  the  crowning  member  of  a  cornice,  or  on  other  parts 
of  the  order,  is  everywhere  the  most  beautiful  ornament  connected 
with  it.  Comparing  this  order  with  that  at  Persepolis  (Woodcut 
No.  89),  the  only  truly  Asiatic  prototype  we  have  of  it,  we  see  how 
much  the  Doric  feeling  of  the  Greeks  had  done  to  sober  it  down,  by 
abbreviating  the  capital  and  omitting  the  greater  part  of  the  base. 

This  process  was  carried  much  farther  when  the  order  was  used  in 
conjunction  with  the  Doric,  as  in  the  Propylaea,  than  when  used  by 


luuuuuuuuyit 


1 


137.   Ionic  order  of  Ereclitheium  at  Athens. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


IONIC  ORDER. 


255 


itself,  as  in  the  Erechtheium ;  still  in  every  case  all  the  parts  found 
in  the  Asiatic  style  are  found  in  the  Greek.  The  same  form  and 
feelings  pervade  both ;  and,  except  in  beauty  of  execution  and  detail 
it  is  not  quite  clear  how  far  even  the  Greek  order  is  an  improvement 
on  the  Eastern  one.  The  Persepolitan  base  is  certainly  the  more 
beautiful  of  the  two;  so  are  many  parts  of  the  capital.  The  perfection 
of  the  whole,  however,  depends  on  the  mode  in  which  it  is  employed ; 
and  it  is  perfectly  evident  that  the  Persian  order  could  not  be  com- 
bined with  the  Doric,  nor  applied  with  much  propriety  as  an  external 
order,  which  was  the  essential  use  of  all  the  Grecian  forms  of  pillars. 

When  used  between  antas  or  square  piers,  as  seems  usually  to  have 
been  the  case  in  Assyria,  the  two-fronted  form  of  the  Ionic  capital  was 
appropriate  and  elegant ;  but  when  it  was  employed,  as  in  the  Erech- 
theium, as  an  angle  column,  it  presented  a  difficulty  which  even 
Grecian  skill  and  ingenuity  could  not  quite  conquer.  When  the 
Persians  wanted  the  capital  to  face  four  ways  they  turned  the  side 
outwards,  as  at  Persepolis  (Woodcut  No.  89),  and  put  the  volutes  in 
the  angles  —  which  was  at  best  but  an  awkward  mode  of  getting  ovei 
the  difficulty. 

The  instance  in  which  these  difficulties 
have  been  most  successfully  met  is  in  the 
internal  order  at  Bassse.  There  the  three 
sides  are  equal,  and  are  equally  seen  —  the 
fourth  is  attached  to  the  wall  —  and  the 
junction  of  the  faces  is  formed  with  an 
elegance  that  has  never  been  surpassed. 
It  has  not  the  richness  of  the  order  of 
the  Erechtheium,  but  it  excels  it  in  ele- 
gance. Its  widely  spreading  base  still 
retains  traces  of  the  w^ooden  origin  of  the 
order,  and  carries  us  back  towards  the 
times  when  a  shoe  was  necessary  to  sup- 
port wooden  posts  on  the  floor  of  an 
Assyrian  hall. 

Notwithstanding  the  amount  of  carving 
which  the  Ionic  order  displays,  there  can 
be  little  doubt  of  its  having  been  also 
ornamented  with  color  to  a  considerable 
extent,  but  probably  in  a  different  manner 

from  the  Doric.  My  own  impression  is,  that  the  carved  parts 
were  gilt,  or  picked  out  with  gold,  relieved  by  colored  grounds, 
varied  according  to  the  situation  in  which  they  were  found.  The 
existing  remains  prove  that  colors  were  used  in  juxtaposition,  to 
relieve  and  heighten  the  architectural  effect  of  the  carved  ornaments 
of  this  order. 


Ionic  order  in  Temple  of 
Apollo  at  BassjB. 


139. 


Section  of  lialf  of  the  Ionic 
Capital  at  Bassse,  taken 
through  the  volute. 


256 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


In  the  Ionic  temples  at  Athens  the  same  exquisite  masonry  was 
used  as  in  the  Doric ;  the  same  mathematical  precision  and  care  is 
bestowed  on  the  entasis  of  the  columns,  the  drawing  of  the  volutes, 
and  the  execution  of  even  the  minutest  details;  and  much  of  its 
beauty  and  effect  are  no  doubt  owing  to  this  circumstance,  which  we 
miss  so  painfully  in  nearly  all  modern  examples. 


Corinthian  Order. 

As  before  mentioned,  the 
Corinthian  order  was  only 
introduced  into  Greece  on  the 
decline  of  art,  and  never  rose 
during  the  purely  Grecian 
age  to  the  dignity  of  a  temple 
order.  It  most  probably,  how- 
ever, was  used  in  the  more 
ornate  specimens  of  domestic 
architecture,  and  in  smaller 
works  of  art,  long  before  any 
of  those  examples  of  it  were 
executed  which  we  now  find 
in  Greece. 

The  most  typical  specimen 
we  now  know  is  that  of  the 
Choragic  Monument  of  Lysi- 
crates  (Woodcut  No.  140), 
which,  notwithstanding  all  its 
elegance  of  detail  and  exe- 
cution, can  hardly  be  pro- 
nounced to  be  perfect,  the 
Egyptian    and   Asiatic  fea- 
tures being  only  very  indif- 
ferently united  to  one  another. 
The  foliaged  part  is  rich  and 
full,  but  is  not  carried  up 
into  the  upper  or  Ionic  por- 
tion, which  is,  in  comparison, 
lean  and  poor;  and  though 
separately  the  two  parts  are 
irreproachable,  it  was  left  to 
the  Romans  so  to  blend  the 
two  together  as  to  make  a  perfectly  satisfactory  whole  out  of  them. 
In  this  example,  as  now  existing,  the  junction  of  the  column  with. 


140.  Order  of  the  Choragic  Moniiment  of  Lysicrates. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


CORINTHIAN  ORDER. 


257 


the  capital  is  left  a  plain  sinking,  and  so  it  is  generally  copied  in 
modern  times ;  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  was  originally 
filled  by  a  bronze  wreath,  which  was  probably  gilt.  Accordingly  this 
is  so  represented  in  the  woodcut  as  being  essential  to  the  completion 
of  the  order.  The  base  and  shaft  have,  like  the  upper  part  of  the 
capital,  more  Ionic  feeling  in  them  than  the  order  was  afterwards 
allowed  to  retain ;  and  altogether  it  is,  as  here  practised,  far  more 
elegant,  though  less  complete,  than  the  Roman  form  which  super- 
seded it. 

The  othei-  Athenian  example,  that  of  the  Tower  of  the  Winds, 
(Woodcut  No.  141),  is  remarkable  as  being  almost  purely  Egyptian  in 


1  1 

II  1  II  II  II  II  II  1  1 

-1 

 ^ 

141.   Order  of  the  Tower  of  the  Winds,  Athens. 

its  types,  with  no  Ionic  admixture.  The  columns  have  no  bases,  the 
capitals  no  volutes,  and  the  water-leaf  clings  as  closely  to  the  bell  as  it 
does  in  the  Egyptian  examples.  The  result  altogether  wants  rich- 
ness, and,  though  appropriate  on  so  small  a  scale,  would  hardly  be 
pleasing  on  a  larger. 

The  great  example  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Olympius  differs  in  no 
essential  part  from  the  Roman  order,  except  that  the  corners  of  the 
VOL.  I.  — 17 


258 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


abacus  are  not  cut  off ;  and  that,  being  executed  in  Athens,  there  is  a 
degree  of  taste  and  art  displayed  in  its  execution  which  we  do  not  find 
in  any  Roman  examples.  Strictly  speaking,  however,  it  belongs  to 
that  school,  and  should  be  enumerated  as  a  Roman,  and  not  as  a 
Grecian,  example. 


Caeyatides. 


It  has  been  already  explained  that  the  Egyptians  never  used  cary- 
atide  figures,  properly  so  called,  to  support  the  entablatures  of  their 

architecture,  their  figures  being 
always  attached  to  the  front  of 
the  columns  or  piers,  which  were 
the  real  bearing  mass.  At  Per- 
sepolis,  and  elsewhere  in  the  East, 
we  find  figures  everywhere  em- 
ployed supporting  the  throne  or 
the  platform  of  the  palaces 
of  the  kings ; 
not,  indeed,  on 
their  heads,  as 
the  Greeks  used 
them,  but  rather 
in  their  uplifted 
hands. 

The  name, 
however,  as  well 
as  their  being 
only  used  in  con- 
junction with  the 
Ionic  order  and 
with  Ionic  de- 
tails, all  point  to 
an  Asiatic  ori- 
gin for  this  very 
questionable 
form  of  art.  As 
employed  in  the 
little  portico  at- 
tached to 
E  r  e  c  h  th  eium, 

these  figures  are  used  with  so  much  taste,  and  all  the  ornaments  are 
so  elegant,  that  it  is  difticult  to  criticize  or  find  fault ;  but  it  is  never- 
theless certain  that  it  was  a  mistake  which  even  the  art  of  the  Greeks 
could  hardly  conceal.    To  use  human  figures  to  support  a  cornice  is 


142.  Caryatide  Figure  In  the  British  Museum. 


+V,p  143.  Caryatide  Figure 
from  the  Erectheiuni. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


FORMS  OF  TEMPLES. 


unpardonable,  unless  it  is  done  as  a  mere  secondary  adjunct  to  a 
building.  In  the  Erechtlieiura  it  is  a  little  too  prominent  for  this, 
though  used  with  as  much  discretion  as 
was  perhaps  possible  under  the  circum- 
stances. Another  example  of  the  sort 
is  shown  in  Woodcut  No.  142,  which, 
by  employing  a  taller  cap,  avoids  some 
of  the  objections  to  the  other;  but  the 
figure  itself,  on  the  other  hand,  is  less 
architectural,  and  so  errs  on  the  other 
side. 

Another  form  of  this  class  of  sup- 
port is  that  of  the  giants  or  Telamones^ 
instances  of  which  are  found  supporting 
the  roof  of  the  great  temple  at  Agri- 
gentum,  and  in  the  baths  of  the  semi- 
Greek  city  of  Pompeii.  As  they  do  not 
actually  bear  the  entablature,  but  only 
seem  to  relieve  the  masonry  behind 
them,  their  employment  is  less  objectionable  than  that  of  the  female 
figures  above  described ;  but  even  they  hardly  fulfil  the  conditions  of 
true  art,  and  their  place  might  be  better  filled  by  some  more  strictly 
architectural  feature. 

Forms  of  Temples. 

The  arrangements  of  Grecian  Doric  temples  show  almost  less 
variety  than  the  forms  of  the  pillars,  and  no  materials  exist  for  tracing 
their  gradual  development  in  an  historical  point  of  view.  The  temples 
at  Corinth,  and  the  oldest  at  Selinus,  are  both  perfect  examples  of  the 
hexastyle  arrangement  to  which  the  Greeks  adhered  in  all  ages ;  and 
though  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  peripteral  form,  as  well  as 
the  order  itself,  was  borrowed  from  Egypt,  it  still  was  so  much  modi- 
fied before  it  appeared  in  Greece,  that  it  would  be  interesting,  if  it 
could  be  done,  to  trace  the  several  steps  by  which  the  change  w^as 
effected. 

In  an  architectural  point  of  view  this  is  by  no  means  difficult. 
The  simplest  Greek  temples  were  mere  cells,  or  small  square  apart- 
ments suited  to  contain  an  image  —  the  front  being  what  is  technically 
called  distyle  in  antis^  or  with  two  pillars  between  antce^  or  square 
pilaster-like  piers  terminating  the  side  walls.  Hence  the  interior 
enclosure  of  Grecian  temples  is  called  the  cell  or  cella,  however  large 
and  splendid  it  may  be. 

The  next  change  was  to  separate  the  interior  into  a  cell  and 
porch  by  a  wall  with  a  large  doorway  in  it,  as  in  the  small  temple  at 


14-1.    Telaiuoues  at  Agrigeiituiu. 


260 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


Scale  for  Plan 

M       20      iO  A 


4     io    /rf    zo  ;ts 

Scale  for  Elevation. 


Rhamnus  (Woodcut  No.  145),  where  the  opening  liowever  can  scarcely 
be  called  a  doorway,  as  it  extends  to  the  roof, 
A  third  change  was  to  put  a  porch  of  4  pillars 
in  front  of  the  last  arrangement,  or,  as  appears 
to  have  been  more  usual,  to  bring  forward  the 
screen  to  the  positions  of  the  pillars  as  in  the 
last  example,  and  to  place  the  4  pillars  in 
front  of  this.  None  of  these  plans  admitted 
of  a  peristyle,  or  pillars  on  the  flanks.  To 
obtain  this  it  was  necessary  to  increase  the 
number  of  pillars  of  the  portico  to  6,  or,  as  it 
is  termed,  to  make  it  hexastyle,  the  two  outer 
pillars  being  the  ^first  of  a  range  of  13  or  15 
columns,  extended '  along  each  side  of  the 
temple.  The  cell  in  this  arrangement  was  a 
complete  temple  in  itself  —  distyle  in  antis, 
most  frequently  made  so  at  both  ends,  and 
the  whole  enclosed  in  its  envelope  of  columns,  as  in  Woodcut 


145.  Small  Temple  at  Rhamnus. 


•  ft  a  a  a  0 


146.   Plan  of  Temple  of  Apollo  at  Bassae. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


7.   Plan  of  Parthenon  at  Athens. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


148.  Plan  of  the  great  Temple  at  Selinus. 
(From  Hittorf ,  "  Arch.  Antique  en 
Sicile.")   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


FORMS  OF  TEMPLES. 


No.  146.  Sometimes  the  cell  was  tetrastyle  or  with  four  pillars  in 
front. 

In  this  form  the  Greek  temple  may  be  said  to  be  complete,  very 
few  exceptions  occurring  to  the  rule,  though  the  Parthenon  itself  is 
one  of  these  few.  It  has  an  inner  hexastyle  portico  at  each  end  of 
the  cell ;  beyond  these  outwardly  are  octastyle  porticoes,  with  17 
columns  on  each  flank. 

The  great  temple  at  Selinus  is  also  octastyle,  but  it  is  neither  so 
simple  nor  so  beautiful  in  its  arrangement ;  and,  from  the  decline  of 
style  in  the  art  when  it  w^as 
built,  it  is  altogether  an  inferior 
example ;  still,  as  one  of  the 
largest  of  Greek  Doric  temples, 
its  plan  is  w^orthy  of  being 
quoted  as  an  illustration  of  the 
varying  forms  of  these  temples. 

Another  great  exception  is 
the  great  temple  at  Agrigen- 
tum  (Woodcuts  Nos.  149  and 
151),  wiiere  the  architect  at- 
tempted an  order  on  so  gigantic 
a  scale  that  he  was  unable  to 
construct  the  pillars  with  their 
architraves  standing  free.  The 
interstices  of  the  columns  are 
therefore  built  up  with  walls 
pierced  wdth  windows,  and  alto- 
gether the  architecture  is  so  bad, 
that  even  its  colossal  dimensions 
must  have  failed  to  render  it  at 
any  time  a  pleasing  or  satisfac- 
tory w^ork  of  art. 

A  fourth  exception  is  the 
temple  at  Paestum  before  re- 
ferred to,  wdth  9  pillars  in  front, 
a  clumsy  expedient,  but  which 
arose  from  its  having  a  range  of  columns  down  the  centre  to 
support  the  ridge  of  the  roof  by  a  simpler  mode  than  the  triangular 
truss  usually  employed  for  carrying  the  roof  between  tw^o  ranges  of 
columns. 

With  the  exception  of  the  temple  at  Agrigentum,  all  these  w^ere 
peristylar,  or  had  ranges  of  columns  all  around  them,  enclosing  the  cell 
as  it  were  in  a  case,  an  arrangement  so  apparently  devoid  of  purpose, 
that  it  is  not  at  first  sight  easy  to  account  for  its  universality.  It  will 
not  suflSce  to  say  that  it  was  adopted  merely  because  it  w^as  beautiful, 


149.  Plan  of  Great  Temple  at  Agrigentum. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


262  GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  Part  I, 

for  the  forms  of  Egyptian  temples,  which  had  no  pillars  externally, 
were  as  perfect,  and  in  the  hands  of  the  Greeks  would  have  become  as 
beautiful,  as  the  one  they  adopted.  Besides,  it  is  natural  to  suppose 
they  would  rather  have  copied  the  larger  than  the  smaller  temples,  if 
no  motive  existed  for  their  preference  of  the  latter.  The  peristyle, 
too,  was  ill-suited  for  an  ambulatory,  or  place  for  processions  to  circu- 
late round  the  temple ;  it  was  too  narrow  for  this,  and  too  high  to 
protect  the  procession  from  the  rain.  Indeed,  I  know  of  no  suggestion 
except  that  it  may  have  been  adopted  to  protect  the  paintings  on  the 
walls  of  the  cells  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  It  hardly 
admits  of  a  doubt  that  the  walls  were  i)ainted,  and  that  without  pro- 
tection of  some  sort  this  would  very  soon  have  been  obliterated.  It 
seems  also  very  evident  that  the  peristyle  was  not  only  practically, 
but  artistically,  most  admirably  adapted  for  this  purpose.  The 
paintings  of  the  Greeks  were,  like  those  of  the  Egyptians,  composed 
of  numerous  detached  groups,  connected  only  by  the  story,  and  it 
almost  required  the  intervention  of  ])illars,  or  some  means  of  dividing 
into  compartments  the  surface  to  be  so  painted,  to  separate  these 
groups  from  one  another,  and  to  prevent  the  whole  sequence  from 
being  seen  at  once ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  nothing  can  have  been 
more  beautiful  than  tlie  white  marble  columns  relieved  against  a 
richly-colored  plane  surface.  The  one  appears  so  necessary  to  the 
other,  that  it  seems  hardly  to  be  doubted  that  this  was  the  cause,  or 
that  the  effect  must  have  been  most  surpassingly  beautiful. 

Mode  op  Lighting  Temples. 

The  arrangement  of  the  interior  of  Grecian  temples  necessarily 
depended  on  the  mode  in  which  they  w^ere  lighted.  No  one  will,  I 
believe,  now  contend,  as  was  once  done,  that  it  was  by  lamplight 
alone  that  the  beauty  of  th?'r  interiors  could  be  seen;  and  as  light 
certainly  was  not  introduced  through  the  side  walls,  nor  could  be  in 
sufficient  quantities  through  the  doorways,  it  is  only  from  the  roof 
that  it  could  be  admitted.  At  the  same  time  it  could  not  have  been 
by  a  large  horizontal  opening  in  the  roof,  as  has  been  supposed,  as 
that  would  have  admitted  the  rain  and  snow  as  well  as  the  light ; 
and  the  only  alternative  seems  to  be  one  I  suggested  some  years 
ago — of  a  clerestory,!  similar  internally  to  that  found  in  all  the  great 


1  The  reasons  which  induced  me  to 
suggest  an  "opaion"  or  clerestory  instead 
of  an  "  hypiBthron  "  or  skylight,  were 
fully  set  forth  in  the  "  True  Principles  of 
Beauty  in  Art,"  in  1849.  I  afterwards 
submitted  a  paper  on  the  same  subject  to 
the  Institute  of  British  Architects  in 


1861.  On  this  occasion  a  considerable 
amount  of  discussion  took  place ;  but  no 
valid  objection  was  brought  forward 
against  my  views,  except,  of  course  their 
novelty,  and  their  being  opposed  to 
authority. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


MODE  OF  LIGHTING  TEMPLES. 


263 


Egyptian  temples,^  but  externally  requiring  such  a  change  of  arrange- 
ment as  was  necessary  to  adapt  it  to  a  sloping  instead  of  a  flat  roof. 
This  seems  to  have  been  effected  by  countersinking  it  into  the  roof, 
so  as  to  make  it  in  fact  3  ridges  in  those  parts  where  the  light  was 
admitted,  though  the  regular  slope  of  the  roof  was  retained  between 
these  openings,  so  that  neither  the  ridge  nor  the  continuity  of  the 
lines  of  the  roof  was  interfered  with.  This  would  effect  all  that  was 
required,  and  in  the  most  beautiful  manner ;  it  moreover  agrees  with 
all  the  remains  of  Greek  temples  that  now  exist,  as  well  as  with  all 
the  descriptions  that  have  been  handed  down  to  us  from  antiquity. 

This  arrangement  will  be  understood  from  the  section  of  the  Par- 
thenon (Woodcut  No. 
150),  restored  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  above 
explanation,  which 
agrees  perfectly  with 
all  that  remains  on  the 
spot,  as  well  as  with  all 
the  accounts  we  have 
of  that  celebrated  tem- 
ple.   The  same  system 

*■        .  150.    Sectiuu  ot  the  Parthenou.    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 

applies     even  more 

easily  to  the  great  hexastyle  at  Pjestum  and  to  the  beautiful  little 


151.   Part  Section,  part  Elevation,  of  Great  Temple  at  Agrigentuni.    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in.. 


Twenty-five  years  is  probably  not  long 
enough  time  to  allow  of  a  new  theory 
being  adopted ;  but  as  my  proposal  cer- 
tainly does  meet  both  the  artistic  and 
literary  exigencies  of  the  case  better 
than  any  other  that  has  been  put  for- 


ward, in  another  quarter  of  a  century  it 
may  probably  find  its  way  into  books  on 
architecture,  or  earlier  if  I  die  in  the 
meanwhile. 

1  See  Woodcuts  Nos.  21,  23,  26., 


264 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTUKE. 


Part  I. 


Temple  of  Apollo  at  Bassae,  in  Phigaleia  (Woodcut  No.  146),  and 
in  fact  to  all  the  regular  Greek  temples.  Indeed  it  seems  impossible 
to  account  for  the  peculiarities  of  that  temple  except  on  some  such 
theory  as  this.  Any  one  who  studies  the  plan  (Woodcut  No.  146) 
will  see  at  once  what  pains  were  taken  to  bring  the  internal  columns 
exactly  into  the  spaces  between  those  of  the  external  peristyle.  The 
effect  inside  is  clumsy,  and  never  would  have  been  attempted  were 
it  not  that  practically  their  position  was  seen  from  the  outside,  and 
this  could  hardly  have  been  so  on  any  other  hypothesis  than  that 
now  proposed.  An  equally  important  point  in  the  examination  of 
this  theory  is  that  it  applies  equally  to  the  exceptional  ones.  The 
side  aisles,  for  instance,  of  the  great  temple  at  Agrigentum  were,  as 
before  mentioned,  lighted  by  side  windows;  the  central  one  could 
only  be  lighted  from  the  roof,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  how  this  could  be 
effected  by  introducing  openings  between  the  telamones,  as  shown  in 
Woodcut  No.  151. 

Another  exceptional  temple  is  that  at  Eleusis,  which  we  know  to 

have  had  windows  and  shutters 
above,  used  in  admitting  or  exclu- 
ding the  light  during  the  cele- 
bration of  the  mysteries.  The 
arrangements  of  this  temple  lend 
themselves  admirably  to  this  mode 
of  introducing  light,  as  shown  in 
the  plan  and  section  annexed 
(Woodcuts  Nos.  152  and  153). 

The  great  Temple  of  Jupiter 
Olympus  (Woodcut  No.  154)  was 
apparently  lighted  according  to 
another  system,  owing  probably  to 
its  immense  height,  and  other  pecu- 
liarities of  its  construction.  The 
light  seems  to  have  been  intro- 
duced into  what  may  be  considered 


152.    Plan  of  Temple  of  Ceres  at  Eleusi 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


153.   Section  of  Temple  of  Ceres  at  Eleusis.   Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  11. 


MODE  OF  LIGHTING  TEMPLES. 


265 


a  court,  or  hypcethron^  in  front  of  the  cell,  which  was  lighted  through 
its  inner  wall.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  temple  mentioned 
by  Vitruvius,!  whose  description  has 
given  rise  to  such  confusion  on  this 
subject.  It  is  decastyle,  and  the  only 
one  to  which  his  words  ai)ply,  or  to 
wliich  it  is  possible  to  adapt  such  a 
mode  of  lighting  as  he  describes. 

Tlie  Ionic  temples  of  Asia  are  all 
too  much  ruined  to  enable  us  to  say 
exactly  in  what  manner,  and  to  what 
extent,  this  mode  of  lighting  was 
applied  to  them,  though  there  seems 
no  doubt  that  the  method  there 
adopted  was  very  similar  in  all  its 
main  features. 

The  little  Temple  of  Nike  Apteros 
and  the  temple  on  the  Ilissus,  were 
both  too  small  to  require  any  compli- 
cated arrangement  of  the  sort,  but  the 
Ionic  temple  of  Pandrosus  was  lighted 
by  windows  wliich  still  remain  at  the 
west  end,  so  that  it  is  possible  the 
same  expedient  may  have  been  adopted 
to  at  least  some  extent  in  the  Asiatic 
examples.  The  latter,  however,  is, 
with  one  exception,  the  sole  instance 
of  windows  in  any  European-Greek  temple,  the  only  other  example 
being  in  the  very  exceptional  temple  at  Agrigentum.  It  is  valuable, 
besides,  as  showing  how  little  the  Greeks  were  bound  by  rules  or  by 
any  fancied  laws  of  symmetry. 

As  is  shown  in  the  plan,  elevation,  and  view  (Woodcuts  Nos.  155, 


154.  Plan  of  Temple  of  Jupiter  Olyuipius 
at  Athens.    Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


155.  Plan  of  Erechtheium.  (From 
Stuart.)    Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


156.   Elevation  of  West  End  of  Erechtheium. 
Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


156,  157),  the  Erechtheium  consisted,  properly  speaking,  of  3  temples 
grouped  together;  and  it  is  astonishing  what  pains  the  architect 


^  Yitruvius,  lib.  i.  ch.  1. 


266 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


took  to  prevent  their  being  mistaken  for  one.  The  porticoes  of  two 
of  them  are  on  different  levels,  and  the  third  or  caryatide  porch  is  of  a 
different  height  and  different  style.  Every  one  of  these  features  is 
perfectly  symmetrical  in  itself,  and  the  group  is  beautifully  balanced 
and  arranged ;  and  yet  no  Gothic  architect  in  his  wildest  moments 
could  have  conceived  anything  more  picturesquely  irregular  than  the 
whole  becomes.  Indeed  there  can  be  no  greater  mistake  than  to 
suppose  that  Greek  architecture  was  fettered  by  any  fixed  laws  of 
formal  symmetry:  each  detail,  every  feature,  every  object,  such  as 
a  hall  or  temple,  which  could  be  considered  as  one  complete  and 
separate  whole,  was  perfectly  symmetrical  and  regular ;  but  no  two 
buildings  —  no  two  apartments  —  if  for  different  purposes,  were  made 


157.   VieAV  of  Erechtheium.   (From  In  wood.) 


to  look  like  one.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  quite  curious  to  observe  what 
pains  they  took  to  arrange  their  buildings  so  as  to  produce  variety 
and  contrast,  instead  of  formality  or  singleness  of  effect.  Temples, 
when  near  one  another,  were  never  placed  parallel,  nor  were  even 
their  propylaea  and  adjuncts  ever  so  arranged  as  to  be  seen  together 
or  in  one  line.  The  Egyptians,  as  before  remarked,  had  the  same 
feeling,  but  carried  it  into  even  the  details  of  the  same  building, 
Avhich  the  Greeks  did  not.  In  this,  indeed,  as  in  almost  every  other 
artistic  mode  of  expression,  they  seem  to  have  hit  exactly  the  happy 
medium,  so  as  to  produce  the  greatest  harmony  with  the  greatest 
variety,  and  to  satisfy  the  minutest  scrutiny  and  the  most  refined 
taste,  while  their  buildings  produced  an  immediate  and  striking  effect 
on  even  the  most  careless  and  casual  beholders. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  11. 


MODE  OF  LIGHTING  TEMPLES. 


267 


Owing  to  the  Erechtheium  having  been  converted  into  a  Byzantine 
church  during  the  Middle  Ages,  ahnost  all  traces  of  its  original 
internal  arrangements  have  been  obliterated,  and  this,  with  the 
peculiar  combination  of  three  temples  in  one,  makes  it  more  than 
usually  difficult  to  restore.  The  an- 
nexed plan,  however,  meets  all  the  re- 
quirements of  the  case  in  so  far  as  they 
are  known.  To  the  east  was  a  portico 
of  6  columns,  between  two  of  which 
stood  an  altar  to  Dione,  mentioned  in 
the  inscription  enumerating  the  re- 
pairs in  409  B.C.  ;  ^  inside,  according  to 
Pausanias,  ^were  three  altars,  the  prin- 
cipal dedicated  to  Neptune,  the  others 
to  Bata  and  Vulcan.  From  its  form, 
it  is  evident  the  roof  must  have  been 
supported  by  pillars,  and  they  probably 
also  bore  a  clerestory,  by  which,  I  be- 
lieve, with  rare  exceptions,  all  Greek 
temples  were  lighted. 

The  Temple  of  Pandrosus  was  on  a  lower  level,  and  was  approached 
by  a  flight  of  steps,  corresponding  with  which  was  a  chamber, 
containing  the  well  of  salt  water,  and  which  apparently  was  the 
abode  of  the  serpent-god  Erecthonios,  mentioned  by  Herodotus.^ 
The  central  cell  was  lighted  by  the  very  exceptional  expedient 
of  three  windows  in  the  western  wall,  which  looked  directly  into  it. 
Beyond  this  on  the  south,  was  the  beautiful  caryatid e  porch,  where, 
if  anywhere  within  the  temple,  grew  the  olive,  sacred  to  Minerva. 
Unfortunately,  our  principal  guide,  Pausanias,  does  not  give  us  a 
hint  where  the  olive  tree  grew,  and  on  the  whole  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  it  was  in  the  enclosure  outside  the  western  wall  of  the  temple,* 
and  to  which  a  doorway  leads  directly  from  the  Temple  of  Pandrosus, 


1  Boeckh,  Corpus  Iiiscript.  Grsec. 
No.  109. 

2  Attica,  xxvi. 

^  Historia,  viii.  41. 

4  Among  the  many  attempts  made  to 
restore  the  interior  of  this  temple,  the 
last  and  most  elaborate  is  that  by  the 
late  E.  Beule,  "  Acropole  d'Athenes," 
1854,  vol.  ii.  pi.  ii. ;  but  it  is  also  one  of 
the  worst.  Indeed  it  is  quite  painful  to 
see  how  the  author  twists  his  authorities 
to  meet  a  preconceived  theory.  With- 
out going  into  it,  there  is  one  objection 
which  seems  fatal  to  the  whole. 

Like  most  antiquaries  when  in  diffi- 
culties for  lighting  Greek  temples,  he 


takes  off  the  roof  and  makes  the  Temple 
of  Pandrosus  an  open  courtyard,  in 
which  he  plants  the  olive.  This  is  so 
opposed  to  the  whole  spirit  of  Greek  art 
as  to  be  inadmissible  on  general  grounds, 
but  in  this  instance  it  introduces  the  fur- 
ther absurdity  that  the  Greeks  opened 
three  windows  in  the  west  wall  of  the 
temple  to  light  this  courtyard  which  was 
already  open  to  the  sky!  The  mode  of 
lighting  a  temple  by  vertical  windows  is 
so  exceptional  that  it  would  not  have  been 
introduced  here  had  any  other  means  ex- 
isted of  lighting  the  interior,  and  con- 
sequently the  combination  sliown  by  M. 
Beule  seems  simply  impossible. 


268 


GEECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


as  well  as  one  under  the  north  portico,  the  use  of  which  it  is  impos- 
sible to  explain  unless  we  assume  that  this  enclosure  was  really  of 
exceptional  importance. 


Temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus. 

A  history  of  Grecian  architecture  can  hardly  be  considered  as 
complete  without  some  mention  of  the  great  Ephesian  temple,  which 

was  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  gorgeous  of  all 
those  erected  by  the 
Greeks,  and  considered 
by  them  as  gne  of  the 
seven  wonders  of  the 
world.  Strange  to  say, 
till  very  recently  even 
its  situation  was  utterly 
nnknoAvn  ;  and  even  now 
that  it  has  been  revealed 
to  us  by  the  energy  and  in- 
telligence of  Mr.  Wood, 
scarcely  enough  remains 
to  enable  him  to  restore 
the  plan  with  anything 
like  certainty.  This  is 
the  more  remarkable,  as 
it  was  found  buried 
under  17  to  20  feet  of 
mud  which  must  )iave 
been  the  accumulation 
of  centuries,  and  might, 
one  would  have  thought, 
have  preserved  consid- 
erable portions  of  it  from 
the  hand  of  the  spoiler. 
Till  Mr.  Wood  pub- 

159.   Plan  of  the  Temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus,  embody-  i         i.i  ^^     j:  ^  • 

fng  Mr.  T.  Wood's  discoveries.   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in.  lishes    the  rCSUlt  OT  hlS 

researches,  we  shall  not 
know  all  we  desire  of  what  remains  of  the  once  celebrated  temple  ; 
but  in  the  meanwhile  the  annexed  plan,  compiled  from  preliminary 
sketches  by  him,  embodies,  I  believe,  all  the  information  he  has  been 
able  to  obtain  up  to  this  time.  The  dimensions  of  the  double  peristyle, 
and  the  number  and  position  of  its  96  columns  are  quite  certain.  So  are 
the  positions  of  the  north,  south,  and  west  walls  of  the  cella ;  so  that 


Bk,  III.  Ch.  II.  TEMPLE  OF  DIANA  AT  EPHESUS. 


269 


the  only  points  of  uncertainty  are  the  positions  of  the  four  columns 
necessary  to  make  up  the  100  mentioned  by  Pliny, ^  and  the  internal 
arrangement  of  the  cella  itself  and  of  the  o])isthodomus. 

With  regard  to  the  first  there  seems  very  little  latitude  for  choice. 
Two  must  have  stood  between  the  antae.  The  position  of  the  other 
two  must  be  determined  either  by  bringing  forward  the  wall  enclosing 
the  stairs,  so  as  to  admit  of  the  intercolumniation  east  and  west  being 
the  same  as  that  of  the  other  columns,  or  of  spacing  them  so  as  to 
divide  the  inner  roof  of  the  pronaos  into  equal  squares.  I  have  pre- 
ferred the  latter  as  that  which  appears  to  me  the  most  probable. 

The  west  wall  of  the  cella  and  the  position  of  the  statue  having 
been  found,  the  arrangement  of  the  pillars  surrounding  this  apartment 
does  not  admit  of  much  latitude.  Fragments  of  these  pillars  were 
found,  but  not  in  situ^  showing  that  they  were  in  two  heights  and 
supported  a  gallery.  I  have  spaced  them  intermediately  between  the 
external  pillars,  as  in  the  Temple  of  Apollo  at  Bassa?  (Woodcut  No.  146), 
because  I  do  not  know  of  any  other  mode  by  which  this  temple  could 
be  lighted  except  by  an  opaion,  as  suggested  for  that  temple ;  and  if 
this  is  so  they  must  have  been  so  spaced.  Carrying  out  this  system  it 
leaves  an  opisthodomus  which  is  an  exact  square,  which  is  so  likely 
a  form  for  that  apartment  that  it  affords  considerable  confirmation  to 
the  correctness  of  this  restoration  that  it  should  be  so.  The  four 
pillars  it  probably  contained  are  so  spaced  as  to  divide  it  into  nine 
equal  squares. 

Restoi-ed  in  this  manner  the  temple  appears  considerably  less  in 
dimensions  than  might  have  been  su23posed  from  Pliny's  text.  His 
measurements  apply  only  to  the  lower  step  of  the  platform,  which  is 
found  to  be  421  ft.  by  238.  But  the  temple  itself,  from  angle  to  angle 
of  the  peristyles,  is  only  342  ft.  by  164,  instead  of  425  ft.  by  220  of  Pliny. 

Assuming  this  restoration  to  be  correct  there  can  be  very  little 
doubt  as  to  the  position  of  the  thirty-six  columnae  ca?lat{B,  of  which 
several  specimens  have  been  recovered  by  Mr.  Wood,  and  are  now  in 
the  British  Museum.  They  must  have  been  the  sixteen  at  either  end 
and  the  four  in  the  pronaos,  shown  darker  in  the  woodcut. 

From  the  temple  standing  on  a  platform  so  much  larger  than 
appears  necessary,  it  is  probable  that  pedestals  with  statues  stood  in 
front  of  each  column,  and  if  this  were  so,  the  sculi)tures,  with  the 
columnae  caelatae  and  the  noble  architecture  of  the  temple  itself,  must 
have  made  up  a  combination  of  technic,  aesthetic,  and  phonetic  art 
such  as  hardly  existed  anywhere  else,  and  which  consequently  the 
ancients  were  quite  justified  in  considering  as  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  world. 

1  "Universo  Templo  longitude  est  |  regibus  factse,  Ix.  pedum  altitudine:  ex 
ccccxxv.  pedum,  latitude  cexx.  Col- i  iis  xxxvi.  cselatse,  una  a  Scopa." — H. 
umnse  centum  viginti  septem  a  singulis  !  N.  xxxvi.  14. 


270 


GKECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I 


Municipal  Architecture. 
Very  little  now  remains  of  all  the  various  classes  of  municipal  and 
domestic  buildings  which  must  once  have  covered  the  land  of  Greece, 
and  from  what  we  know  of  the  exquisite  feelings  for  art  that  per- 
vaded that  people,  they  were  certainly  not  less  beautiful,  though  more 
ephemeral,  than  the  sacred  buildings  whose  ruins  still  remain  to  us. 

There  are,  however,  two  buildings  in  Athens  which,  though  small, 
give  us  most  exalted  ideas  of  their  taste  in  such  matters.  The  first, 
already  alluded  to,  usually  known  as  the  Tower  of  the  Winds,  is  a 
plain  octagonal  building  about  45  ft.  in  height  by  24  in  width,  orna- 
mented by  2  small  porches  of  2  pillars  each, 
of  the  Corinthian  order,  the  capitals  of 
which  are  represented  in  Woodcut  No.  141. 
Its  roof,  like  the  rest  of  the  building,  is 
of  white  marble,  and  of  simple  but  very 
elegant  design,  and  below  this  is  a  frieze 
of  8  large  figures,  symbolical  of  the  8 
winds,  from  which  the  tower  takes  its 
name,  they  in  fact  being  the  principal  ob- 
jects and  ornaments  of  the  building,  the 
most  important  use  of  which  appears  to 
have  been  to  contain  a  clepsydra  or  water- 
clock. 

The  other  building,  though  smaller,  is 
still  more  beautiful.  It  is  known  as  the 
Choragic  Monument  of  Lysicrates,  and 
consists  of  a  square  base  12  ft.  high  by 
9  ft.  wide,  on  which  stands  a  circular 
temple  adorned  by  6  Corinthian  columns, 
which,  with  their  entablature  and  the  roof 
and  pedestal  they  support,  make  up  22  ft. 
more,  so  that  the  whole  height  of  the 
monument  is  only  34  ft.  Notwithstanding 
these  insignificant  dimensions,  the  beauty 
of  its  columns  (Woodcut  No.  140)  and  of 
their  entablature  —  above  all,  the  beauty 
of  the  roof  and  of  the  finial  ornament, 
which  crowns  the  whole  and  is  imrivalled 
for  elegance  even  in  Greek  art  —  make  up 
that  nothing  in  any  other  style  or  age 
If  this  is  a  fair  index  of  the  art  that  was 


1 

160.    Choragic  Monument  of 
Lysicrates.  No  scale. 


a  composition  so  perfect 
can  be  said  to  surpass  it.^ 


1  The  capital  is  triangular  in  plan,  and  1  mortises  in  them,  showing  that  something 
there  are  three  scrolls  on  the  roof  with  |  must  have  stood  on  them  to  support  the 


Bk.  III.  Cn.  II. 


THEATRES. 


271 


lavished  on  the  smaller  objects,  the  temples  hardly  give  a  just  idea 
of  all  that  have  perished. 

Theatres. 

In  extreme  contrast  with  the  buildings  last  described,  which  were 
among  the  smallest,  came  the  theatres,  which  were  the  largest,  of  the 
monuments  the  Greeks  seem  ever  to  have  attempted. 

The  annexed  plan  of  one  at  Dramyssus,  the  ancient  Dodona,  will 
give  an  idea  of  their  forms  and  arrangements.    Its  dimensions  may 


161.   Plan  of  Theatre  at  Dramyssus.    Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


be  said  to  be  gigantic,  being  443  ft.  across;  but  even  this,  though 
perhaps  the  largest  in  Greece,  is  far  surpassed  by  many  in  Asia 
Minor,  What  remains  of  it,  however,  is  merely  the  auditorium,  and 
consists  only  of  ranges  of  seats  arranged  in  a  semicircle,  but  without 
architectural  ornament.  In  all  the  examples  in  Europe,  the  pro- 
scenium, which  was  the  only  part  architecturally  ornamented,  has 
perished,  so  that,  till  we  can  restore  this  with  something  like  cer- 
tainty, the  theatres  hardly  come  within  the  class  of  Architecture  as  a 
fine  art. 

In  Asia  Minor  some  of  the  theatres  have  their  proscenia  adorned 
with  niches  and  columns,  and  friezes  of  great  richness ;  but  all  these 


projecting  angles.  Dolphins  and  various 
other  objects  have  been  suggested.  My 
own  conviction  is  that  they  were  winged 


genii,  most  probably  in  bronze,  and  gilt 
like  the  neckings  of  the  capitals. 


272 


GRECli^JS"  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


belong  to  the  Roman  period,  and,  though  probably  copies  of  the  mode 
in  which  the  Greeks  ornamented  theirs,  are  so  corrupt  in  style  as  to 
prevent  their  being  used  with  safety  in  attempting  to  restore  the 
earlier  examples. 

Many  circumstances  would  indeed  induce  us  to  believe  that  the 
proscenia  of  the  earlier  theatres  may  have  been  of  wood  or  bronze,  or 
both  combined,  and  heightened  by  painting  and  carving  to  a  great 
degree  of  richness.  This,  though  appropriate  and  consonant  with  the 
origin  and  history  of  the  drama,  would  be  fatal  to  the  expectation  of 
anything  being  found  to  illustrate  its  earliest  forms. 

Tombs. 

Like  the  other  Aryan  races,  the  Greeks  never  were  tomb-builders, 
and  nothing  of  any  importance  of  this  class  is  found  in  Greece,  except 
the  tombs  of  the  early  Pelasgic  races,  which  were  either  tumuli,  or 
treasuries,  as  they  are  popularly  called.  Tliere  are,  it  is  true,  some 
headstones  and  small  pillars  of  great  beauty,  but  they  are  monolithic, 
and  belong  rather  to  the  department  of  Sculpture  than  of  Architecture. 
In  Asia  Minor  there  are  some  important  tombs,  some  built  and  others 
cut  in  the  rock.  Some  of  the  latter  have  been  described  before  in 
speaking  of  tlie  tombs  of  the  Lycians.  The  built  examples  which 
remain  almost  all  belong  to  the  Roman  period,  though  the  typical  and 
by  far  the  most  splendid  example  of  Greek  tombs  was  that  erected  by 
Artemisia  to  the  memory  of  her  husband  Mausolus  at  Halicarnassus. 
We  scarcely  know  enough  of  the  ethnic  relations  of  the  Carians  to  be 
able  to  understand  what  induced  them  to  adopt  so  exceptional  a  modfe 
of  doing  honor  to  their  dead.  With  pure  Greeks  it  must  liave  been 
impossible,  but  the  inhabitants  of  these  coasts  were  of  a  different  race, 
and  had  a  different  mode  of  expressing  their  feelings. 

Till  Mr.  Newton's  visit  to  Halicarnassus  in  1856  the  very  site  of 
this  seventh  wonder  of  the  world  was  a  matter  of  dispute.  We  now 
know  enough  to  be  able  to  restore  the  principal  parts  with  absolute 
certainty,  and  to  ascertain  its  dimensions  and  general  appearance 
witliin  very  insignificant  limits  of  error.i 

The  dimensions  quoted  by  Pliny  ^  aye  evidently  extracted  from  a 
larger  work,  said  to  have  been  written  by  the  architect  who  erected  it 
and  which  existed  at  his  time.  Every  one  of  them  has  been  confirmed 
in  the  most  satisfactory  manner  by  recent  discoveries,  and  enable  us  to 
put  the  whole  together  without  much  hesitation. 

Sufficient  remains  of  the  quadriga,  which  crowned  the  monument, 


^  It  will  not  be  necessary  to  enter  here 
into  all  the  details  of  this  restoration. 
They  will  be  found  in  a  separate  work 


published  by  me  on  the  subject,  to  which 
the  reader  is  referred. 
2  Hist.  Nat.  xxxvi.  5. 


Bk.  IIJ.  Ch.  II. 


TOMBS. 


273 


274 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Fart  L 


have  been  brought  home  to  give  its  dimensions  absolutely.  All  the 
parts  of  the  Ionic  order  are  complete.  The  steps  of  the  pyramid  have 
been  found  and  portions  of  the  three  friezes,  and  these,  with  Pliny's 
dimensions  and  description,  are  all  that  are  required  to  assure  us  that 
its  aspect  must  have  been  very  similar  to  the  form  represented  in 
Woodcut  No.  162.  There  can  be  little  doubt  with  regard  to  the  upper 
story,  but  in  order  to  work  out  to  the  dimensions  given  by  Pliny 
(411  ft.  in  circumference)  and  those  found  cut  out  in  the  rock 
(462  ft.),  the  lower  story  must  be  spread  out  beyond  the  upper  to 
that  extent,  and  most  jDrobably  something  after  the  manner  shown  in 
the  woodcut. 

The  building  consisted  internally  of  two  chambers  superimposed 
the  one  on  the  other,  each  52  ft.  6  in.  by  42  ft.  —  the  lower  one  being 
the  vestibule  to  the  tomb  beyond  —  the  upper  was  surrounded  by  a 
peristyle  of  36  columns.  Externally  the  height  was  divided  into  three 
equal  portions  of  37  ft.  6  in.  each  (25  cubits),  one  of  which  was  allotted 
to  the  base  —  one  to  the  pyramid  with  its  meta  — and  one  to  the  order 
between  them.  These  with  14  ft.,  the  height  of  the  quadriga,  and 
the  same  dimension  belonging  to  the  lower  entablature,  made  up  the 
height  of  140  Greek  feet^  given  it  by  Pliny. 

Thougli  its  height  was  unusually  great  for  a  Greek  building,  its 
other  dimensions  were  small.  It  covered  only  13,230  feet.  The  ad-^ 
miration  therefore  which  the  Greeks  expressed  regarding  it  must 
have  arisen,  first,  from  the  unusual  nature  of  its  design  and  of  the 
purpose  to  which  it  was  applied,  or  perhaps  more  still  from  the 
extent  and  richness  of  its  sculptured  decorations,  of  the  beauty  of 
w^hich  we  are  now  enabled  to  judge,  and  can  fully  share  with  them 
in  admiring. 

Another,  but  very  much  smaller,  tomb  of  about  the  same  age  was 
found  by  Mr.  Newton  at  Cnidus,  and  known  as  the  Lion  Tomb,  from 
the  figure  of  that  animal,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  which  crowned 
its  summit.  Like  many  other  tombs  found  in  Asia  and  in  Africa,  it 
follows  the  type  of  the  Mausoleum  in  its  more  important  features. 
It  possesses  a  base  —  a  peristyle  —  a  pyramid  of  steps  —  and,  lastly,  an 
acroterion  or  pedestal  meant  to  support  a  quadriga  or  statue,  or  some 
other  crowning  object,  which  appropriately  terminated  the  design 
upwards. 

Several  examples  erected  during  the  Roman  period  will  be  illus- 
trated when  speaking  of  the  architecture  of  that  people,  all  bearing 
the  impress  of  the  influence  the  Mausoleum  had  on  the  tomb  archi- 


^  The  figures  given  in  the  text  are  all 
Greek  feet :  the  difference  between  them 
and  English  feet,  being  only  l^-  per  cent., 
is  hardly  perceptible  in  chese  dimensions. 


without  descending  to  minute  fractions, 
and  disturbing  the  comparison  with 
Pliny's  text. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


CYRENE. 


275 


tecture  of  that  age ;  but  unfortunately  we  cannot  yet  go  backwards 
and  point  out  the  type  from  which  the  design  of  the  Mausoleum  itself 
was  elaborated.    The  tombs  of  Babylon  and  Passargadae  are  remote 


both  geographically  and  artistically,  though  not  without  ceitain 
essential  resemblances.  Perhaps  the  missing  links  may  some  day 
reward  the  industry  of  some  scientific  explorer. 


Cyrene. 

At  Cyrene  there  is  a  large  group  of  tombs  of  Grecian  date  and 
with  Grecian  details,  but  all  cut  in  the  rock,  and  consequently 
differing  widely  in  their  form  from  those  just  described.  It  is  not 
clear  whether  the  circumstance  of  this  city  possessing  such  a  necro- 
polis arose  from  its  proximity  to  Egypt,  and  consequently  from  a 
mere  desire  to  imitate  that  people,  or  from  some  ethnic  peculiarity. 


276 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Pakt  I. 


Most  probably  the  latter,  though  we  know  so  little  about  them  that 
it  is  difficult  to  speak  with  precision  on  such  a  subject. ' 


1  The  circumstance  of  Asoka,  the  such  a  conchision,  even  if  nothing  else 
Buddhist  king  of  India  b.c.  250,  having  did.  —  "Journal  Asiatic  Society  of  Ben- 
formed  an  alliance  with  Megas  of  Cyrene  gal,"  vii.  p.  261;  J.  R.  A.  S.  xii.  p.  223 
for  the  succor  of  his  co-religionists  in  et  seq 
the  dominions  of  the  latter,  points  to 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


CYRENE. 


277 


These  tombs  are  chiefly  interesting  from  many  of  the  details  of  the 
architecture  still  retaining  the  color  with  which  they  were  originally 
adorned.  The  triglyphs  of  the  Doric  order  are  still  painted  blue,i  as 
appears  to  have  been  the  universal  practice,  and  the  pillars  are  outlined 
by  red  lines.  The  metopes  are  darker,  and  are  adorned  with  painted 
groups  of  figures.  The  whole  making  up  one  of  the  most  perfect 
examples  of  Grecian  colored  decoration  which  still  remain. 

There  is  another  tomb  at  the  same  place  —  this  time  structural  — 
which  is  interesting  not  so  much  for  any  architectural  beauty  it  pos- 
sesses as  from  its  belonging  to  an  exceptional  type.  It  consists  now 
only  of  a  circular  basement  —  the  upper  part  is  gone  —  and  is  erected 


IGf).   Tombs  at  Cyreiie.   (From  Hamilton's  "  North  Africa.") 


over  an  excavated  rock-cut  tomb.  There  seem  to  be  several  others  of 
the  same  class  in  the  necropolis,  and  they  are  the  only  examples  known 
except  those  at  Marathos,  one  of  which  is  illustrated  above  (Woodcut 
No.  120).  As  before  hinted,  the  Syrian  example  does  not  appear  to 
be  very  ancient,  but  we  want  further  information  before  speaking 
positively  on  this  subject.  Ko  one  on  the  spot  has  attempted  to  fix 
with  precision  the  age  of  the  Cyrenean  exam.ples ;  nor  have  they  been 
drawn  in  such  detail  as  is  requisite  for  others  to  ascertain  the  fact. 
They  may  be  as  late  as  the  time  of  the  Romans,  but  can  hardly  be 
dated  as  prior  to  the  age  of  Alexander  the  Great. 


*  Beechy's  "Journey  to  Cyrene,"  p.  444;  see  also  Smith  and  Porcher,  pi.  37. 


278 


GRECIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


Domestic  Architecture. 

We  have  nothing  left  but  imperfect  verbal  descriptions  of  the 
domestic,  and  even  of  the  palatial  architecture  of  Greece,  and,  conse- 
quently, can  only  judge  imperfectly  of  its  forms.  Unfortunately,  too, 
Pompeii,  though  but  half  a  Greek  city,  belongs  to  too  late  and  too 
corrupt  an  age  to  enable  us  to  use  it  even  as  an  illustration ;  but  we 
may  rest  assured  that  in  this,  as  in  everything  else,  the  Greeks  dis- 
played the  same  exquisite  taste  which  pervades  not  only  their  monu- 
mental architecture,  but  all  their  works  in  metal  or  clay,  down  to  the 
meanest  object,  which  have  been  preserved  to  our  times. 

It  is  probable  that  the  forms  of  their  houses  were  much  more  irre- 
gular and  picturesque  than  we  are  in  the  habit  of  supposing  them  to 
have  been.  They  seem  to  have  taken  such  pains  in  their  temples  —  in 
the  Erechtheium,  for  instance,  and  at  Eleusis  —  to  make  every  part  tell 
its  own  tale,  that  anything  like  forced  regularity  must  have  been  offen- 
sive to  them,  and  they  would  probably  make  every  apartment  exactly 
of  the  dimensions  required,  and  group  them  so  that  no  one  should  under 
any  circumstance  be  confounded  with  another. 

This,  however,  with  all  the  details  of  their  domestic  arts,  must  now 
remain  to  us  as  mere  speculation,  and  the  architectural  history  of  Greece 
must  be  confined  to  her  temples  and  monumental  erections.  These 
suffice  to  explain  the  nature  and  forms  of  the  art,  and  to  assign  to  it  the 
rank  of  the  purest  and  most  intellectual  of  all  the  styles  which  have 
yet  been  invented  or  practised  in  any  part  of  the  world. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  I. 


ETRUSCAN  ARCHITECT  LTRE. 


279 


BOOK  ly. 

ETRUSCAN  AND  EOMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 

CHAPTER  I. 
ETRURIA. 

CONTENTS. 

Historical  notice  —  Temples  —  Rock-cut  Tombs — Tombs  at  Castel   d'Asso  — 

Tumuli. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  MEMORANDA. 

Migration  from  Asia  Minor  about  12th  cent.  B.  c. 

Tomb  of  Porsenna   about  b.  c.  500 

Etruria  becomes  subject  to  Rome   "  330 


THE  ethnographical  history  of  art  in  Italy  is  in  all  its  essential  feat- 
ures similar  to  that  of  Greece,  though  arriving  at  widely  different 
results  from  causes  the  influence  of  which  it  is  easy  to  trace.  Both  are 
examples  of  an  Aryan  development  based  on  a  Turanian  civilization 
which  it  has  superseded.  In  Greece  —  as  already  remarked  —  the  traces 
of  the  earlier  people  are  indistinct  and  difficult  to  seize.  In  Italy 
their  features  are  drawn  with  a  coarser  hand,  and  extend  down  into 
a  more  essentially  historic  age.  It  thus  happens  that  we  have  no 
doubt  as  to  the  existence  of  the  Etruscan  people  —  we  know  very 
nearly  who  they  were,  and  cannot  be  mistaken  as  to  the  amount 
and  kind  of  influence  they  exercised  on  the  institutions  and  arts  of 
the  Romans. 

The  more  striking  differences  appear  to  hav^e  arisen  from  the  fact, 
that  Greece  had  some  four  or  five  centuries  of  comparative  repose 
during  which  to  form  herself  and  her  institutions  after  the  Pelasgic 
civilization  was  struck  down  at  the  time  of  the  Dorian  occupation  of 
the  Peloponnesus.  During  that  period  she  was  undisturbed  by  foreign 
invasion,  and  was  not  tempted  by  successful  conquests  to  forsake  the 
gentler  social  arts  for  the  more  vulgar  objects  of  national  ambition. 
Rome's  history,  on  the  other  hand,  from  the  earliest  aggregation  of  a 


280 


ETRUSCAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


robber  horde  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  till  she  became  the  arbiter  of 
the  destinies  of  the  ancient  world,  is  little  beyond  the  record  of  con- 
tinuous wars.  From  the  possession  of  the  seven  hills,  Rome  gradually 
carried  her  sway  at  the  edge  of  the  sword  to  the  dominion  of  the 
whole  of  Italy  and  of  all  the  then  known  world,  destroying  every- 
thing that  stood  in  the  way  of  her  ambition,  and  seeking  only  the 
acquisition  of  wealth  and  power. 

Greece,  in  the  midst  of  her  successful  cultivation  of  the  arts  of 
commerce  and  of  peace,  stimulated  by  the  wholesome  rivalry  of  the  dif- 
ferent States  of  which  she  was  composed,  was  awakened  by  the  Persian 
invasion  to  a  struggle  for  existence.  The  result  was  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  passages  in  the  world's  history,  and  no  nation  was  ever  more 
justified  in  the  jubilant  outburst  of  enthusiastic  patriotism  that  fol- 
lowed the  repulse  of  the  invader,  than  was  Greece  in  that  with  which 
she  commenced  her  short  but  brilliant  career.  A  triumph  so  gained 
by  a  people  so  constituted  led  to  results  at  which  we  still  wonder, 
though  they  cause  us  no  surprise.  If  Greece  attained  her  manhood  on 
the  battle-fields  of  Marathon  and  Salamis,  Rome  equally  reached  the 
maturity  of  her  career  when  she  cruelly  and  criminally  destroyed 
Corinth  and  Carthage,  and  the  sequel  was  such  as  might  be  expected 
from  such  a  difference  of  education.  Rome  had  no  time  for  the  culti- 
vation of  the  arts  of  peace,  and  as  little  sympathy  for  their  gentler 
influences.  Conquest,  wealth,  and  consequent  power,  were  the  objects 
of  her  ambition  —  for  these  she  sacrificed  everything,  and  by  their 
means  she  attained  a  pinnacle  of  greatness  that  no  nation  had  reached 
before  or  has  since.  Iler  arts  have  all  the  impress  of  this  greatness, 
and  are  characterized  by  the  same  vulgar  grandeur  which  marks 
everything  she  did.  Very  different  are  they  from  the  intellectual 
beauty  found  in  the  works  of  the  Greeks,  but  in  some  respects  they 
are  as  interesting  to  those  who  can  read  the  character  of  nations  in 
their  artistic  productions. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  her  career  Rome  was  an  Etruscan  city  under 
Etruscan  kings  and  institutions.  After  she  had  emancipated  herself 
from  their  yoke,  Etruria  long  remained  her  equal  and  her  rival  in 
political  power,  and  her  instructress  in  religion  and  the  arts  of  peace. 
This  continued  so  long,  and  the  architectural  remains  of  that  people 
are  so  numerous,  and  have  been  so  thoroughly  investigated,  that  we 
have  no  difficulty  in  ascertaining  the  extent  of  influence  the  older  nation 
had  on  the  nascent  empire.  It  is  more  difficult  to  ascertain  exactly 
who  the  Etruscans  themselves  were,  or  whence  they  came.  But  on  the 
whole  there  seems  every  reason  to  believe  they  migrated  from  Asia 
Minor  some  twelve  or  thirteen  centuries  before  the  Christian  era,  and 
fixed  themselves  in  Italy,  most  probably  among  the  Umbrians,  or  some 
people  of  cognate  race,  who  had  settled  there  before  —  so  long  before, 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  I. 


TEMPLES. 


281 


perhaps,  as  to  entitle  them  to  be  considered  among  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants. 

It  would  have  been  only  natural  that  the  expatriated  Trojans 
should  have  sought  refuge  among  such  a  kindred  people,  though  we 
have  nothing  but  the  vaguest  tradition  to  warrant  a  belief  that  this  was 
the  case.  They  may,  too,  from  time  to  time  have  received  other  acces- 
sions to  their  strength ;  but  they  were  a  foreign  people  in  a  strange 
land,  and  scarcely  seem  ever  to  have  become  naturalized  in  the  country 
of  their  adoption.  But  what  stood  still  more  in  their  way  was  the  fact 
that  they  were  an  old  Turanian  people  in  presence  of  a  young  and  am- 
bitious community  of  Aryan  origin,  and,  as  has  always  been  the  case 
when  this  has  happened,  they  were  destined  to  disappear.  Before  doing 
so,  however,  they  left  their  impress  on  the  institutions  and  the  arts  of 
their  conquerors  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  still  traceable  in  every 
form.  It  may  have  been  that  there  was  as  much  Pelasgic  blood  in  the 
veins  of  the  Greeks  as  there  was  Etruscan  in  those  of  the  Romans ; 
but  the  civilization  of  the  former  had  passed  away  before  Greece  had 
developed  herself.  Etruria,  on  the  other  hand,  was  long  contemporary 
with  Rome  —  in  early  times  her  equal,  and  sometimes  her  mistress, 
and  consequently  in  a  position  to  force  her  arts  upon  her  to  an  extent 
that  was  never  effected  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  Adriatic. 


Temples. 

Nothing  can  prove  more  clearly  the  Turanian  origin  of  the  Etrus- 
cans than  the  fact  that  all  we  know  of  them  is  derived  from  their 
tombs.  These  exist  in  hundreds  —  it  may  almost  be  said  in  thousands 
—  at  the  gates  of  every  city ;  but  no  vestige  of  a  temple  has  come 
down  to  our  days.  Had  any  Semitic  blood  flowed  in  their  veins,  as 
has  been  sometimes  suspected,  they  could  not  have  been  so  essentially 
sepulchral  as  they  were,  or  so  fond  of  contemplating  death,  as  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that  a  purely  Semitic  tomb  is  still  a  desideratum  among^ 
antiquaries,  not  one  having  as  yet  been  discovered.  What  we  should 
like  to  find  in  Etruria  would  be  a  square  pyramidal  mound  with 
external  steps  leading  to  a  cella  on  its  summit ;  but  no  trace  of  any 
such  has  yet  been  detected.  Their  other  temples  —  using  the  word 
in  the  sense  in  which  we  usually  understand  it  —  were,  as  might  be 
expected,  insignificant  and  ephemeral.  So  much  so,  indeed,  that  except 
from  one  passage  in  Vitruvius,!  and  our  being  able  to  detect  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Etruscan  style  in  the  buildings  of  Imperial  Rome,  we  should 
hardly  be  aware  of  their  existence.  The  truth  seems  to  be  that  the 
religion  of  the  Etruscans,  like  that  of  most  of  their  congeners,  was 
essentially  ancestral,  and  their  worship  took  tlie  form  of  respect  for  the 


^  Vitruvius,  iv.  7. 


282 


ETRUSCAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  J. 


remains  of  the  dead,  and  reverence  for  their  memory.  Tombs,  con- 
sequently, and  not  temples,  were  the  objects  on  which  they  lavished 
their  architectural  resources.  They  certainly  were  not  idolaters,  in 
the  sense  in  which  we  usually  understand  the  term.  They  had  no  dis- 
tinct or  privileged  priesthood,  and  consequently  had  no  motive  for  erect- 
ing temples  which  by  their  magnificence  should  be  pleasing  to  their 
gods,  or  tend  to  the  glorification  of  their  kings  or  priests.  Still  less 
were  they  required  for  congregational  purposes  by  the  people  at  large. 

The  only  individual  temple  of  Etruscan  origin  of  which  we  have 
any  knowledge,  is  that  of  Capitoline  Jupiter  at  Rome.i  Originally 
small,  it  was  repaired  and  rebuilt  till  it  became  under  the  Empire  a 
splendid  fane.  But  not  one  vestige  of  it  now  remains,  nor  any  de- 
scription from  which  we  could  restore  its  appearance  with  anything  like 
certainty. 

From  the  chapter  of  the  work  of  Vitruvius  just  alluded  to,  we 
learn  that  the  Etruscans  had  two  classes  of  temples  :  one  circular, 
like  their  structural  tombs,  and  dedicated  to  one  deity  ;  the  other  class 
rectangular,  but  these,  always  possessing  three  cells,  were  devoted  to 
the  worship  of  three  gods. 

The  general  arrangement  of  the  plan,  as  described  by  Vitruvius,  was 
that  shown  on  the  plan  below  (Fig.  1),  and  is  generally  assented  to  by 


167.   Plan  and  Elevation  of  an  Etruscan  Temple. 


all  those  who  have  attempted  the  restoration.  In  larger  temples  in 
Roman  times  the  number  of  pillars  in  front  may  have  been  doubled, 
and  they  would  thus  be  arranged  like  those  of  the  portico  of  the 
Pantheon,  which  is  essentially  an  Etruscan  arrangement.  The  resto- 
ration of  the  elevation  is  more  difficult,  and  the  argument  too  long  to 
be  entered  upon  here; 2  but  its  construction  and  proportions  seem  to 
have  been  very  much  like  those  drawn  in  the  above  diagram  (Fig.  2). 
Of  course,  as  wooden  structures,  they  were  richly  and  elaborately 
carved,  and  the  effect  heightened  by  colors,  but  it  is  in  vain  to  attempt 


*  Dionysius,  iv.  61. 

2  For  more  detail,  see  "  The  True  Principles  of  Beauty  in  Art,"  p.  446  et  eeq. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  I.  TEMPLES.  283 

to  restore  them.  Without  a  single  example  to  guide  us,  and  with 
very  little  collateral  evidence  which  can  at  all  be  depended  upon,  it 
is  hardly  possible  that  any  satisfactory  restoration  could  now  be  made. 
Moreover,  tlieir  importance  in  the  history  of  art  is  so  insignificant,  that 
the  labor  such  an  attempt  must  involve  would  hardly  be  repaid  by 
the  result. 

The  original  Etruscan  circular  temple  seems  to  have  been  a  mere 
circular  cell  with  a  porch.  The  Romans  surrounded  it  with  a  peristyle, 
which  probably  did  not  exist  in  the  original  style.  They  magnified 
it  afterwards  into  the  most  characteristic  and  splendid  of  all  their 
temples,  the  Pantheon,  whose  portico  is  Etruscan  in  arrangement  and 
design,  and  whose  cell  still  more  distinctly  belongs  to  that  order ;  nor 
can  there  be  any  doubt  that  the  simpler  Roman  temples  of  circular 
form  are  derived  from  Etruscan  originals.  It  would  therefore  be  of 
great  importance  if  we  could  illustrate  the  later  buildings  from  existing 
remains  of  the  older ;  but  the  fact  is  that  such  deductions  as  we  may 
draw  from  the  copies  are  our  only  source  of  information  respecting  the 
originals. 

We  know  little  of  any  of  the  civil  buildings  with  which  the  cities 
of  Etruria  were  adorned,  beyond  the  knowledge  obtained  from  the 
remains  of  their  theatres  and  amphitheatres.  The  form  of  the  latter 
was  essentially  Etruscan,  and  was  adopted  by  the  Romans,  Avith  whom 
it  became  their  most  characteristic  and  grandest  architectural  object. 
Of  the  amphitheatres  of  ancient  Etruria  only  one  now  remains  in  so  per- 
fect a  state  as  to  enable  us  to  judge  of  their  forms.  It  is  that  at  Sutri, 
which,  however,  being  entirely  cut  in  the  rock,  neither  affords  informa- 
tion as  to  the  mode  of  construction  nor  enables  us  to  determine  its  age. 
The  general  dimensions  are  295  ft.  in  its  greatest  length  by  265  in 
breadth,  and  it  is  consequently  much  nearer  a  circular  form  than  the 
Romans  generally  adopted  ;  but  in  other  respects  the  arrangements  are 
such  as  appear  to  have  usually  prevailed  in  after  times. 

Besides  this  we  have  numerous  works  of  utility,  but  these  belong 
more  strictly  to  engineering  than  to  architectural  science.  The  city 
walls  of  the  Etruscans  surpass  those  of  any  other  ancient  nation  in 
extent  and  beauty  of  workmanship.  Their  drainage  works  and  their 
bridges,  as  well  as  those  of  the  kindred  Pelasgians  in  Greece,  still 
remain  monuments  of  their  industrial  science  and  skill,  which  their 
successors  never  surpassed. 

On  the  whole,  perhaps  we  are  justified  in  asserting  that  the 
Etruscans  were  not  an  architectural  people,  and  had  no  temples  or 
palaces  worthy  of  attention.  It  at  least  seems  certain  that  nothing 
of  the  sort  is  now  to  be  found,  even  in  ruins,  and  were  it  not  that 
the  study  of  Etruscan  art  is  a  necessary  introduction  to  that  of 
Roman,  it  would  hardly  be  worth  while  trying  to  gather  together 
and  illustrate  the  few  fragments  Pad  notices  of  it  that  remain. 


284  ETRUSCAN  ARCHITECTURE  Part  I. 

Tombs. 

The  tombs  of  the  Etruscans  now  found  may  be  divided  into  two 
classes  —  first,  those  cut  in  the  rock,  and  resembling  dwelling-houses ; 
secondly,  the  circular  tumuli,  which  latter  are  by  far  the  most  numer- 
ous and  important  class. 

Each  of  these  may  be  again  subdivided  into  two  kinds.  The  rock- 
cut  tombs  include,  firstly  those  with  only  a  fa9ade  on  the  face  of  the 
rock  and  a  sepulchral  chamber  within ;  secondly,  those  cut  quite  out 
of  the  rock  and  standing  free  all  round.  To  this  class  probably  once 
belonged  an  immense  number  of  tombs  built  in  the  ordinary  way ;  but 
all  these  have  totally  disappeared,  and  consequently  the  class,  as  now 
under  consideration,  consists  entirely  of  excavated  examples. 

The  second  class  may  be  divided  into  those  tumuli  erected  over 
chambers  cut  in  the  tufaceous  rock  which  is  found  all  over  Etruria,  and 
those  wliich  have  chambers  built  above-ground. 

In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  it  is  impossible  to  say  which 
of  these  classes  is  the  older.  We  know  that  the  Egyptians  buried  in 
caves  long  before  the  Etruscans  landed  in  Italy,  and  at  the  same  time 
raised  pyramids  over  rock-cut  and  built  chambers.  We  know  too  that 
Abraham  was  buried  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah  in  Syria.  On  the  other 
hand,  tlie  tombs  at  Smyrna  (Woodcut  No.  Ill),  the  treasuries  of 
Mycenae  (Woodcut  No.  122),  the  sepulchre  of  Alyattes  (Woodcut 
No.  113),  and  many  others,  are  proofs  of  the  antiquity  of  the  tumuli, 
which  are  found  all  over  Europe  and  Asia,  and  apj^ear  to  have  existed 
from  the  earliest  ages. 

The  comparative  antiquity  of  the  different  kinds  of  tombs  being  thus 
doubtful  it  will  be  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  the  present  work  to 
classify  them  architecturally.  It  may  probably  be  assumed  with 
safety  that  all  the  modes  which  have  been  enumerated,  were  practised 
by  the  Etruscans  at  a  period  very  slightly  subsequent  to  their  migra- 
tion into  Italy. 

Of  the  first  class  of  the  rock-cut  tombs  — those  with  merely  a  fayade 
externally  —  the  most  remarkable  group  is  that  at  Castle  d'Asso.  At 
this  place  there  is  a  perpendicular  cliff  with  hundreds  of  these  tombs 
ranged  along  its  face,  like  houses  in  a  street.  A  similar  arrangement 
is  found  in  Egypt  at  Beni  Hassan,  at  Petra,  and  Gyrene,  and  around  all 
the  more  ancient  cities  of  Asia  Minor. 

In  Etruria  they  generally  consist  of  one  chamber  lighted  by  the 
doorway  only.  Their  internal  arrangement  appears  to  be  an  imitation 
of  a  dwelling  chamber,  with  furniture,  like  the  apartment  itself,  cut 
out  of  the  rock.  Externally  they  have  little  or  no  pretension  to  archi- 
tectural decoration.  It  is  true  that  some  tombs  are  found  adorned  with 
frontispieces  of  a  debased  Doric  or  Ionic  order ;  but  these  were  exe- 
cuted at  a  much  later  period  and  under  Roman  domination,  and 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  I. 


TOMBS. 


285 


cannot  therefore  be  taken  as  specimens  of  Etruscan  art,  but  rather 
of  that  corruption  of  style  sure  to  arise  from  a  conquered  people 
trying  to  imitate  the  arts  of  their  rulers. 

The  general  appearance  of  the  second  class  of  rock-cut  tombs  will 
be  understood  from  the  woodcut  (No.  168),  representing  two  monu- 
ments at  Castel  d'Asso. 
Unfortunately  neither 
is  complete  nor  is  there 
any  complete  example 
known  to  exist  of  this 
class.  Perhaps  the  apex 
was  added  structurally 
and  that  these,  like  all 
such  things  in  Etruria, 
have  perished.  Possi- 
bly, if  cut  in  the  rock, 
the  terminals  were 
slender  carved  orna- 
ments, and  therefore 
liable  to  injury.  They 
are  usually  restored 
by  antiquaries  in  the 
shape  of  rectilinear  pyramids,  but  so  far  as  I  know,  there  is  no  author- 
ity for  this.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  more  in  accordance  with  what 
we  know  of  the  style  and  its  affinities  to  suppose  that  the  termination 
of  these  monuments,  even  if  added  in  masonry,  was  curvilinear. 

One  remarkable  thing  about  the  rock-cut  tombs  is  the  form  of  their 
mouldings,  wdiich  differ  from  any  found 
elsewhere  in  Europe.  Two  of  these  are 
shown  in  the  annexed  woodcut  (No.  169). 
They  are  very  numerous  and  in  great 
variety,  but  do  not  in  any  instance  show 
the  slightest  trace  of  a  cornice,  nor  of  any 
tendency  towards  one.  On  the  contrary, 
in  place  of  this,  we  find  nothing  but  a 
reverse  moulding.  It  is  probable  that 
similar  forms  may  be  found  in  Asia  Minor, 
while  something  resembling  them  actually 
occurs  at  Persepolis  and  elsewhere.  It  is  remarkable  that  this 
feature  did  not  penetrate  to  Rome,  and  that  no  trace  of  its  influence 
is  found  there,  as  might  have  been  expected. i 


Tombs  at  Castel  d'Asso.    (From  the  "  Annale  del  In- 
stituto.") 


Mouldings  from  Tombs  at 
Castel  d'Asso. 


^  Even  in  more  modern  times  I  know 
of  no  building  showing  a  trace  of  these 
forms  except  the  tomb  of  Theodoric  at 


Ravenna.  This,  however,  is  Etruscan 
botli  in  form  and  detail,  as  will  be  seen 
farther  on. 


286 


ETRUSCAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


Tumuli. 

The  simplest,  and  therefore  perhaps  the  earliest,  monument  which 
can  be  erected  over  the  graves  of  the  dead,  by  a  people  who  rever- 
ence their  departed  relatives,  is  a  mound  of  earth  or  a  cairn  of  stones, 
and  such  seems  to  have  been  the  form  adopted  by  the  Turanian  or 
Tartar  races  of  mankind  from  the  earliest  days  to  the  present  hour. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  how  universal  such  monuments  were 
among  the  ruder  tribes  of  Northern  Europe.  The  Etruscans  improved 
upon  this  by  surrounding  the  base  with  2, podium^  or  supporting  wall 
of  masonry.  This  not  only  defined  its  limits  and  gave  it  dignity,  but 
enabled  entrances  to  be  made  in  it,  and  otherwise  converted  it  from  a 
mere  hillock  into  a  monumental  structure.  It  is  usually  supposed 
that  this  basement  was  an  invariable  part  of  all  Etruscan  tumuli, 
and  when  it  is  not  found  it  is  assumed  that  it  has  been  removed,  or 
that  it  is  buried  in  the  rubbish  of  the  mound.  No  doubt  such  a 
stone  basement  may  easily  have  been  removed  by  the  peasantry,  or 
buried,  but  it  is  by  no  means  clear  that  this  was  invariably  the  case. 
It  seems  that  the  enclosure  was  frequently  a  circle  of  stones  or  monu 
mental  steles,  in  the  centre  of  which  the  tumulus  stood.  The  monu- 
ments have  hitherto  been  so  carelessly  examined  and  restored,  that  it  is 
difficult  to  arrive  at  anything  like  certainty  with  regard  to  the  details 
of  their  structure.  Nor  can  we  draw  any  certain  conclusion  from  a 
comparison  with  other  tumuli  of  cognate  races.  The  description  by 
Herodotus  of  the  tomb  of  Alyattes  at  Sardis  (Woodcut  No.  113),  those 
described  by  Pausanias  as  existing  in  the  Peloponnesus,  and  the 
appearance  of  those  at  Mycenae  and  Orchomenos,  might  be  inter- 
preted either  way;  but  those  at  Smyrna  (Woodcut  No.  Ill),  and  a 
great  number  at  least  of  those  in  Etruria,  have  a  structural  circle 
of  stone  as  a  supporting  base  to  the  mound. 

These  tumuli  are  found  existing  in  immense  numbers  in  every 
necropolis  of  the  Etruscans.  A  large  space  was  generally  set  apart 
for  the  purpose  outside  the  walls  of  all  their  great  cities.  In  these 
cemeteries  the  tumuli  are  arranged  in  rows,  like  houses  in  streets. 
Even  now  we  can  count  them  by  hundreds,  and  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  largest  cities  —  at  Vulci,  for  instance  —  almost  by  thousands. 

Most  of  them  are  now  worn  down  by  the  effect  of  time  to  nearly 
the  level  of  the  ground,  though  some  of  the  larger  ones  still  retain  an 
imposing  appearance.  Nearly  all  have  been  rifled  at  some  early  period, 
though  the  treasures  still  discovered  almost  daily  in  some  places  show 
how  vast  their  extent  was,  and  how  much  even  now  remains  to  be  done 
before  this  vast  mine  of  antiquity  can  be  said  to  be  exhausted. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  among  those  that  have  been  opened  in 
modern  times  is  at  Cervetere,  the  ancient  Caere,  known  as  the  Regiilini 
Galeassi  tomb,  from  the  names  of  its  discoverers. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  I. 


TUMULI. 


287 


Like  a  Nubian  pyramid  or  Buddhis 
older  tumulus,  around  and  over  whi 
outer  mound  are  five  tombs  either 
of  dependent  or  inferior  personages. 
These  were  rifled  long  ago  ;  but  the 
outer  pyramid  having  effectually 
concealed  the  entrance  to  the  prin- 
cipal tomb,  it  remained  untouched 
till  very  lately,  when  it  yielded  to 
its  discoverers  a  richer  collection 
of  ornaments  and  utensils  in  gold 
and  bronze  than  has  ever  been 
found  in  one  place  before. 

The  dimensions  and  arrange- 
ments of  this  tumulus  will  be  under- 
stood from  Woodcuts  Nos.  170, 171, 
and  from  tlie  two  sections  of  the 


tope,  it  consists  of  an  inner  and 
1  another  has  been  added.    In  the 


170.    Plan  of  the  Kegulini  Galeassi 
Tomb.   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


171.    Sections  of  the  Kegulini  Galeassi  Tomb.    (From  Canina's  "Etruria  Antica.") 
Scale  for  large  section,  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


principal  tomb  which  are  annexed  to  them.  These  last  display  an 
irregularity  of  construction  very  unusual  in  such  cases,  for  which  no 
cause  can  be  assigned.  The  usual  section  is  perfectly  regular,  as  in  the 
annexed  woodcut  (No.  172),  taken  from  another  tomb  at  the  same 
place. 

These  chambers,  like  all  those  of  the  early  Etruscans,  are  vaulted 
on  the  horizontal  principle,  like  the  tombs  at  Mycenje  and  Orchomenos, 


288 


ETRUSCAN  ARCHITECTURE 


Part  I. 


172.   Section  ol  a  J  omh  at 
Caere.    No  scale. 


though  none  are  found  in  Italy  at  all  equal  to  those  of  Greece  m 
dimensions  or  beauty  of  construction. 

Woodcut  No.  173  is  a  perspective  view  of  the  principal  chamber  in 
the  Regulini  Galeassi  tomb,  showing  the  position  of  the  furniture 
found  in  it  when  first  opened,  consisting  of  biers 
or  bedsteads,  shields,  arrows  and  vessels  of  various 
sorts.  A  number  of  vases  are  hung  in  a  curious 
recess  in  the  roof,  the  form  of  which  would  be 
inexplicable  but  for  the  utensils  found  in  it. 
With  this  clue  to  its  meaning  we  can  scarcely 
doubt  that  it  represents  a  place  for  hanging  such 
vessels  in  the  houses  of  the  living. 

All  the  treasures  found  in  this  tomb  are  in 
the  oldest  style  of  Etruscnn  art,  and  are  so  similar 
to  the  bi-onzes  and  ornaments  brought  by  Layard  from  Assyria  as  to 
lead  to  the  belief  that  they  had  a  common  origin.   -The  tomb  with 

its  contents  probably  dates 
from  the  9th  or  10th  cen- 
tury before  the  Christian 
era. 

The  largest  tomb  hither- 
to discovered  in  Etruria  is 
now  known  as  the  Cocu- 
mella,  in  the  necropolis  at 
Vulci.  It  is  rather  more 
than  240  ft.  in  diameter, 
and  originally  could  not 
have  been  less  than  115  or 
120  ft.  in  height,  though 
now  it  only  rises  to  50  ft. 

Near  its  centre  are  the 
remains  of  two  solid  tow- 
ers, one  circular,  the  other 
square,  neither  of  them 
actually  central,  nor  are 
they  placed  in  such  a  way 
that  we  can  understand 
how  they  can  have  formed 
a  part  of  any  symmetrical 
design.  A  plan  and  a  view  of  the  present  appearance  of  this 
monument  are  given  in  Woorlcuts  174  and  175. 

This  tumulus,  with  its  principnl  remaining  features  thus  standing 
on  one  side  of  the  centre,  may  possibly  assist  us  to  understand  the 
curious  description  found  in  Plinyi  of  the  tomb  of  Porsenna.  This 


the  lieguliui  Galle- 


1  Plin.  ''Hist."  xxxvi.  13. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  I. 


TUMULI. 


289 


description  is  quoted  from  Varro,  being  evidently  regarded  by  Pliny 
himself  as  not  a  little  apocryphal.  According  to  this  account  it  con- 
sisted of  a  square  basement  300  ft.  each  way,  from  which  arose  five 
pyramids  united  at  the 
summit  by  a  bronze  circle 
or  cupola.  This  was  again 
surmounted  by  four  other 
pyramids,  the  summits  of 
which  were  again  united 
at  a  height  of  300  ft.  from 
the  ground.  From  this 
point  rose  still  five  more 
pyramids,  w^hose  height 
Varro  (from  modesty,  as 
Pliny  surmises)  omits  to 
state,  but  which  was  esti- 
mated in  Etruscan  tradi- 
tions at  the  same  height 
as  the  rest  of  the  monu- 
ment. This  last  statement, 
which  does  not  rest  on  any  real  authority,  may  well  be  regarded 
as  exaggerated ;  but  if  we  take  the  total  height  as  about  400  ft., 
it  is  easy  to  understand  that  in  the  age  of  Pliny,  when  all  the 
buildings  were  low,  such  a  structure,  as  high  as  the  steeple  at  Salis- 
bury, would  appear  fabulous  ;  but  the  vast  piles  that  have  been  erected 
by  tomb-building  races  in  other  parts  of  the  earth  render  it  by  no 
means  improbable  that  Yarro  was  justified  in  what  he  asserted.^ 


174.   Plan  of  Cocumella,  Vulci.   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


175.   View  of  Cocuiuella,  Vulci. 


Near  the  gate  of  Albano  is  found  a  small  tomb  of  five  pyramidal 
pillars  rising  from  a  square  base,  exactly  corresponding  with  Varro's 
description  of  the  lower  part  of  the  tomb  of  Porsenna.  It  is  called  by 
tradition  the  tomb  of  Aruns,  the  son  of  Porsenna,  though  the  character 


1  A  diagram  is  given  in  "The  True 
Principles  of  Beauty  in  Art,"  p.  459. 
which  shows  at  least  that  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  designing  a  monument  in 


perfect  accordance  with  the  text. 
Whether  the  latter  is  to  be  depended 
upon  on  or  not  is  another  matter. 


290 


ETRUSCAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


in. 


Scale  100  ft.  to 
176.   Tomb  of  Aruns,  Albano. 


of  the  mouldings  with  which  it  is  adorned  would  lead  us  to  assign  to 
it  a  more  modern  date.  It  consists  of  a  lofty  podium,  on  which  are 
placed  five  pyramids,  a  large  one  in  the  centre  and  four  smaller  ones 

at  the  angles.  Its  present  appearance  is 
shown  in  the  annexed  woodcut  (No.  176). 

There  are  not  in  Etruria  any  features 
sufficiently  marked  to  characterize  a  style 
of  architecture,  nor  any  pillars  with  their 
accessories  which  can  be  considered  to 
U  - T^C 'K^K^r'"''' ■  ^         constitute  an  order.    It  is  true  that  in 
'V"'^"'"""^i'  ^'''^'""^  '^"^""I'J/ijit        some  of  the  rock-cut  tombs  square  piers 

support  the  roof ;  and  in  one  or  two 
instances  rounded  pillars  are  found,  but 
these  are  either  without  mouldings  or 
ornamented  only  with  Roman  details, 
betraying  the  lateness  of  their  execution. 
The  absence  of  built  examples  of  the 
class  of  tombs  found  in  the  rock  pre- 
vents us  from  recognizing  any  of  those 
peculiarities  of  construction  which  some- 
times are  as  characteristic  of  the  style  and  as  worthy  of  attention  as 
the  more  purely  ornamental  parts. 

From  their  city  gates,  their  aqueducts  and  bridges,  we  know  that 
the  Etruscans  used  the  radiating  arch  at  an  early  age,  with  deep  vous- 

soirs  and  elegant  mouldings, 
giving  it  that  character  of 
strength  which  the  Romans 
afterwards  imparted  to  their 
works  of  the  same  class.  The 
Cloaca  Maxima  of  Rome 
(Woodcut  No.  101)  must  be 
considered  as  a  work  exe- 
cuted under  Etruscan  super- 
intendence, and  a  very  per- 
fect specimen  of  the  class. 

At  the  same  time  the 
Etruscans  used  the  pointed 
arch  constructed  horizon- 
tally, and  seem  to  have  had  the  same  predilection  for  it  which 
characterized  the  cognate  Pelasgian  race  in  Greece.  A  gateway  at 
Arpino  (Woodcut  No.  177)  is  almost  identical  Avith  that  at  Thoricus 
(Woodcut  No.  124),  but  larger  and  more  elegant;  and  there  are 
many  specimens  of  the  same  class  found  in  Italy.  The  portion  of  an 
aqueduct  at  Tusculum,  shown  in  Woodcut  No.  178,  is  a  curious  transi- 
tion specimen,  where  the  two  stones  meeting  at  the  apex  (usually 


Gateway  at  Arpino. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  L 


THE  ARCH. 


291 


called  the  Egyptian  form,  being  the  first  step  towardc  the  true  arch) 
are  combined  with  a  substructure  of  horizontal  converging  masonry. 

In  either  of  these  in- 
stances the  horizontal  arch 
is  a  legitimate  mode  of 
construction,  and  may 
have  been  used  long  after 
the  principle  of  the  radiat- 
ing arch  was  known.  The 
great  convenience  of  the 
latter,  as  enabling  large 
spaces  to  be  spanned  even 
with  brick  or  the  smallest 
stones,  and  thus  dispens- 
ing with  the  necessity  for 
stones  of  very  large  di- 
mensions, led  ultimately 
to  its  universal  adoption, 
the  radiatins:   arch  was 


178.    Aqueduct  at  Tusculum. 


Subsequently,  when  the  pointed  form  of 
_  introduced,  no  motive  remained  for  the 

retention  of  the  horizontal  method,  and  it  was  entirely  abandoned. 


292 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Fart  L 


CHAPTER  II. 


ROME. 


INTRODUCTION. 


E  now  approach  the  last  revohition  that  completed  and  closed  the 


f  ?  great  cycle  of  the  arts  and  civilization  of  the  ancient  world.  We 
have  seen  Art  spring  Minerva-like,  perfect  from  the  head  of  her  great 
parent  in  Egypt.  We  have  admired  it  in  Assyria,  rich,  varied,  but  un- 
stable ;  aiming  at  everything,  but  never  attaining  maturity  or  perfec- 
tion. We  have  tried  to  trace  the  threads  of  early  Pelasgic  art  in  Asia, 
Greece,  and  Etruria,  spreading  their  influence  over  the  world,  and  laying 
the  foundation  of  other  arts  which  the  Pelasgi  were  incapable  of  devel- 
oping. We  have  seen  all  these  elements  gathered  together  in  Greece,  the 
essence  extracted  from  each,  and  the  whole  forming  the  most  perfect 
and  beautiful  combinations  of  intellectual  power  that  the  world  has  yet 
witnessed.  We  have  now  only  to  contemplate  the  last  act  in  the  great 
drama,  the  gorgeous  but  melancholy  catastrophe  by  which  all  these 
styles  of  architecture  were  collected  in  wild  confusion  in  Rome,  and 
there  perished  beneath  the  luxury  and  ci'imes  of  that  mighty  people, 
who  for  a  while  made  Rome  the  capital  of  Europe. 

View  them  as  we  will,  the  arts  of  Rome  were  never  an  indigenous 
or  natural  j)roduction  of  the  soil  or  people,  but  an  aggregation  of  foreign 
styles  in  a  state  of  transition  from  the  old  and  time-honored  forms  of 
Pagan  antiquity  to  the  new  development  introduced  by  Christianity. 
We  cannot  of  course  suppose  that  the  Romans  foresaw  the  result  to 
which  their  amalgamation  of  previous  styles  was  tending ;  still  they 
advanced  as  steadily  towards  that  result  as  if  a  prophetic  spirit  had 
guided  them  to  a  well-defined  conception  of  what  was  to  be.  It  was  not 
however  permitted  to  the  Romans  to  complete  this  task.  Long  before 
the  ancient  methods  and  ideas  had  been  completely  moulded  into  the 
new,  the  power  of  Rome  sank  beneath  her  corruption,  and  a  long  pause 
took  place,  during  which  the  Christian  arts  did  not  advance  in  Western 
Europe  beyond  the  point  they  had  reached  in  the  age  of  Constantine. 
Indeed,  in  many  respects,  they  receded  from  it  during  the  dark  ages. 
When  they  reappeared  in  the  10th  and  11th  centuries  it  was  in  an 
entirely  new  garb  and  with  scarcely  a  trace  of  their  origin  —  so  distinct 
indeed  that  it  appears  more  like  a  re-invention  than  a  reproduction  of 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  II. 


INTRODUCTION. 


293 


forms  long  since  familiar  to  the  Roman  world.  Had  Rome  retained 
her  power  and  pre-eminence  a  century  or  two  longer,  a  style  might 
have  been  elaborated  as  distinct  from  that  of  the  ancient  world,  and 
as  complete  in  itself  as  our  pointed  Gothic,  and  perhaps  more  beautiful. 
Such  was  not  the  destiny  of  the  world ;  and  what  we  have  now  to  do 
i's  to  examine  this  transition  style  as  we  find  it  in  ancient  Rome,  and 
familiarize  ourselves  with  the  forms  it  took  during  the  three  centuries 
of  its  existence,  as  without  this  knowledge  all  the  arts  of  the  Gothic 
era  would  forever  remain  an  inexplicable  mystery.  The  chief  value 
of  the  Roman  style  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  contains  the  germs  of 
all  that  is  found  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  affords  the  key  by  which  its 
mysteries  may  be  unlocked,  and  its  treasures  rendered  available.  Had 
the  transition  been  carried  through  in  the  hands  of  an  art-loving  and 
artistic  people,  the  architectural  beauties  of  Rome  must  have  surpassed 
those  of  any  other  city  in  the  world,  for  its  buildings  surpass  in  scale 
those  of  Egypt  and  in  variety  tliose  of  Greece,  while  they  affect  to 
combine  the  beauties  of  both.  In  constructive  ingenuity  they  far 
surpass  anything  the  world  had  seen  up  to  that  time,  but  this  cannot 
redeem  offences  against  good  taste,  nor  enable  any  Roman  productions 
to  command  our  admiration  as  works  of  art,  or  entitle  them  to  rank 
as  models  to  be  followed  either  literally  or  in  spirit. 

During  the  first  two  centuries  and  a  half  of  her  existence,  Rome 
was  virtually  an  Etruscan  city,  wholly  under  Etruscan  influence ;  and 
during  that  period  we  read  of  temples  and  palaces  being  built,  and 
of  works  of  immense  magnitude  being  undertaken  for  the  embellish- 
ment of  the  city ;  and  we  have  even  now  more  remains  of  kingly 
than  we  have  of  consular  Rome. 

After  expelling  her  kings  and  shaking  off  Etruscan  influence,  Rome 
existed  as  a  republic  for  five  centuries,  and  during  this  long  age  of 
barbarism  she  did  nothing  to  advance  science  or  art.  Literature  was 
almost  wholly  unknown  within  her  walls,  and  not  one  monument  has 
come  down  to  our  time,  even  by  tradition,  worthy  of  a  city  of  a  tenth 
part  of  her  power  and  magnitude.  There  is  probably  no  instance  in 
the  history  of  the  world  of  a  capital  city  existing  so  long,  populous 
and  peaceful  at  home,  prosperous  and  powerful  abroad,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  utterly  devoid  of  any  monuments  or  any  magnificence 
to  dignify  her  existence. 

When,  however,  Carthage  was  conquered  and  destroyed,  when 
Greece  was  overrun  and  plundered,  and  Egypt,  with  her  long-treasured 
art,  had  become  a  dependent  province,  Rome  was  no  longer  the  city  of 
the  Aryan  Romans,  but  the  sole  capital  of  the  civilized  world.  Into  her 
lap  were  poured  all  the  artistic  riches  of  the  universe  ;  to  Rome  flocked 
all  who  sought  a  higher  distinction  or  a  more  extended  field  for  their 
ambition  than  their  own  provincial  capitals  could  then  afford.  She 


294 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I 


thus  became  the  centre. of  all  the  arts  and  of  all  the  science  then  known ; 
and,  so  far  at  least  as  quantity  is  concerned,  she  amply  redeemed  her 
previous  neglect  of  them.  It  seems  an  almost  indisputable  fact  that, 
during  the  three  centuries  of  the  Empire,  more  and  larger  buildings 
were  erected  in  Rome  and  her  dependent  cities  than  ever  were  erected 
in  a  like  period  in  any  part  of  the  world. 

For  centuries  before  the  establishment  of  the  Roman  Empire,  pro- 
gressive development  and  increasing  population,  joined  to  comparative 
peace  and  security,  had  accumulated  around  the  shores  of  the  Medi- 
terranean a  mass  of  people  enjoying  material  prosperity  greater  than 
had  ever  been  known  before.  All  this  culminated  in  the  first  centuries 
of  the  Christian  era.  The  greatness  of  the  ancient  world  was  then 
full,  and  a  more  overwhelming  and  gorgeous  spectacle  than  the  Roman 
Empire  then  displayed  never  dazzled  the  eyes  of  mankind.  From  the 
banks  of  the  Euphrates  to  those  of  the  Tagus,  every  city  vied  with 
its  neighbor  in  the  erection  of  temples,  baths,  theatres,  and  edifices 
for  public  use  or  private  luxury.  In  all  cases  these  display  far  more 
evidence  of  wealth  and  power  than  of  taste  and  refinement,  and  all 
exhibit  traces  of  that  haste  to  enjoy,  which  seems  incompatible  with 
the  correct  elaboration  of  anything  that  is  to  be  truly  great.  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  there  is  a  greatness  in  the  mass,  a  grandeur  in 
the  conception,  and  a  certain  expression  of  power  in  all  these  Roman 
remains  which  never  fail  to  strike  the  beholder  with  awe,  and  force 
admiration  from  him  despite  his  better  judgment.  These  qualities, 
coupled  with  the  associations  that  attach  themselves  to  every  brick 
and  every  stone,  render  the  study  of  them  irresistibly  attractive.  It 
was  with  Imperial  Rome  that  the  ancient  world  perished ;  it  was  in 
her  dominions  that  the  new  and  Christian  world  was  born.  All  that 
was  great  in  Heathendom  was  gathered  within  her  walls,  tied,  it  is 
true,  into  an  inextricable  knot,  which  was  cut  by  the  sword  of  those 
barbarians  who  moulded  for  themselves  out  of  the  fragments  that 
polity  and  those  arts  which  will  next  occupy  our  attention.  To 
Rome  all  previous  history  tends ;  from  Rome  all  modern  history 
springs :  to  her,  therefore,  and  to  her  arts,  we  inevitably  turn,  if  not 
to  admire,  at  least  to  learn,  and  if  not  to  imitate,  at  any  rate  to  won- 
der at  and  to  contemplate  a  phase  of  art  as  unknown  to  previous  as  to 
subsequent  history,  and,  if  properly  understood,  more  replete  with 
instruction  than  any  other  form  hitherto  known.  Though  the  lesson 
we  learn  from  it  is  far  oftener  what  to  avoid  than  what  to  follow,  still 
there  is  such  wisdom  to  be  gathered  from  it  as  should  guide  us  in  the 
onward  path,  which  may  lead  us  to  a  far  higher  grade  than  it  was 
given  to  Rome  herself  ever  to  attain. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  iu. 


ORIGIN  OF  STYLE. 


2db 


CHAPTER  III. 
ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 

CONTENTS. 

Origin  of  style  —  The  arch  —  Orders:  Doric,  Ionic,  Corintliian,  Composite  — 
Temples  —  The  Pantheon  —  Roman  temples  at  Athens  —  at  Baalbec. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  MEMORANDA. 


DATES. 

Foundation  of  Rome  B.  c.  753 

Tarquinius  Priscus  —  Cloaca  Maxima, 
foundation  of  Temple  of  Jupiter 

Capitolinus  616 

Temple  of  Jupiter  Capitolinus  dedicated  507 

Scipio  —  tomb  at  Literium  184 

Augustus  — temples  at  Rome  ....  31 
Marcellus  — theatre  at  Rome— died  .  .  23 
Agrippa  —  portico  of  Pantheon  —died  .  13 
Nero  —  burning  and  rebuilding  of  Rome 

—  died  A.  D.  68 

Vespasian  —  Flavian  amphitheatre  built  70 


DATES. 

Titus  —  arch  in  Forum  A.  D.  79 

Destruction  of  Pompeii  79 

Trajan  —  Ulpian  Basilica  and  Pillar  of 

Victory  98 

Hadrian  builds  temple  at  Rome,  Temple 

of  Jupiter  Olympius  at  Athens,  etc.  .  117 
Septimius  Severus  — arch  at  Rome  .    .  .194 

Caracalla  — baths  211 

Diocletian  —  palace  at  Spalatro  ....  284 
Maxentius  —  Basilica  at  Rome    ....  306 
Constantine  —  transfer  of  Empire  to  Con- 
stantinople  328 


THE  earliest  inhabitants  of  Rome  were  an  Aryan,  or,  as  they  used  to  be 
called,  Indo-Germanic  race,  who  established  themselves  in  a  country 
previously  occupied  by  Pelasgians.  Their  principal  neighbor  on  one 
side  was  Etruria,  a  Pelasgian  nation.  On  the  other  hand  was  Magna 
Graecia,  which  had  been  colonized  in  very  early  ages  by  Hellenic 
settlers  of  kindred  origin.  It  was  therefore  impossible  that  the  archi- 
tecture of  the  Romans  should  not  be  in  fact  a  mixture  of  the  styles 
of  these  two  people.  As  a  transition  order,  it  was  only  a  mechanical 
juxtaposition  of  both  styles,  the  real  fusion  taking  place  many  long- 
centuries  afterwards.  Throughout  the  Roman  period  the  two  styles 
remain  distinct,  and  there  is  no  great  difficulty  in  referring  almost 
every  feature  in  Roman  architecture  to  its  origin. 

From  the  Greeks  were  borrowed  the  rectangular  peristylar  temple, 
with  its  columns  and  horizontal  architraves,  though  they  seldom  if  ever 
used  it  in  its  perfect  purity,  the  cella  of  the  Greek  temples  not  being 
sufficiently  large  for  their  purposes.  The  principal  Etruscan  temples^ 
as  we  have  already  shown,  were  square  in  plan,  and  the  inner  half 
occupied  by  one  or  more  cells,  to  the  sides  and  back  of  which  the 
portico  never  extended.  The  Roman  rectangular  temple  is  a  mixture 
of  these  two  :  it  is  generally,  like  the  Greek  examples,  longer  than  its 
breadth,  but  the  colonnade  never  seems  to  have  entirely  surrounded  the 
building.    Sometimes  it  extends  to  the  two  sides  as  well  as  the  front, 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


rART  1. 


but  more  generally  the  cella  occupies  the  whole  of  the  inner  part, 
though  frequently  ornamented  by  a  false  peristyle  of  three-quarter 
columns  attached  to  its  walls. 

Besides  this,  the  Romans  borrowed  from  the  Etruscans  a  circular 
form  of  temple  unknown  to  the  Greeks,  but  which  to  their  tomb-build- 
ing predecessors  must  have  been  not  only  a  familiar  but  a  favorite 
form.  As  applied  by  the  Romans  it  was  generally  encircled  by  a 
peristyle  of  columns,  though  it  is  not  clear  that  the  Etruscans  so  used 
it ;  this  may  therefore  be  an  improvement  adoj^ted  from  the  Greeks  on 
an  Etruscan  form.  In  early  times  these  circular  temples  were  dedi- 
cated to  Vesta,  Cybele,  or  some  god  or  goddess  either  unknown  or  not 
generally  worshipped  by  the  Aryan  races ;  but  in  later  times  this 
distinction  was  lost  sight  of. 

A  more  important  characteristic  which  the  Romans  borrowed  from 
the  Etruscans  was  the  circular  arch.  It  was  known,  it  is  true,  to  the 
Egyptians,  Assyrians,  and  Greeks;  yet  none  of  these  people,  perhaps 
excepting  the  Assyrians,  seem  to  have  used  it  as  a  feature  in  their 
ornamental  architecture ;  but  the  Etruscans  appear  to  have  had  a  pecul- 
iar predilection  for  it,  and  from  them  the  Romans  adopted  it  boldly, 
and  introduced  it  into  almost  all  their  buildings.  It  was  not  at  first 
used  in  tcmjilcs  of  Grecian  form,  nor  even  in  their  peristylar  circular 
ones.  In  the  civil  buildings  of  the  Romans  it  was  a  universal  feature, 
but  was  generally  placed  in  juxtaposition  with  the  Grecian  orders.  In 
the  Colosseum,  for  instance,  the  whole  construction  is  arched ;  but  a 
useless  network  of  ill-designed  and  ill-arranged  Grecian  columns,  with 
their  entablatures,  is  spread  over  the  whole.  This  is  a  curious  instance 
of  the  mixture  of  the  two  styles,  and  as  such  is  very  characteristic  of 
Roman  art ;  but  in  an  artistic  point  of  view  the  place  of  these  columns 
would  have  been  far  better  supplied  by  buttresses  or  panels,  or  some 
expedient  more  correctly  constructive. 

After  having  thoroughly  familiarized  themselves  Avith  the  forms  of 
the  arch  as  an  architectural  feature,  the  Romans  made  a  bold  stride  in 
advance  by  applying  it  as  a  vault  both  to  the  circular  and  rectangular 
forms  of  buildings.  The  most  perfect  examples  of  this  are  the  rotunda 
of  the  Pantheon  and  the  basilica  of  Maxentius,  commonly  called  the 
Temple  of  Peace,  strangely  like  each  other  in  conception,  though 
apparently  so  distant  in  date.  In  these  buildings  the  Roman  archi- 
tects so  completely  emancipated  themselves  from  the  trammels  of 
former  styles  as  almost  to  entitle  them  to  claim  the  invention  of  a  new 
order  of  architecture.  It  would  have  required  some  more  practice  to 
invent  details  appropiate  to  the  purpose ;  still  these  two  buildings 
are  to  this  hour  unsurpassed  for  boldness  of  conception  and  just  appre- 
ciation of  the  manner  in  which  the  new  method  ought  to  be  applied. 
This  is  almost  universally  acknowledged  so  far  as  the  interior  of  the 
Pantheon  is  concerned.    In  simple  grandeur  it  is  as  yet  unequalled ; 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  IIL 


ORDERS. 


297 


its  faults  being  principally  those  of  detail.  It  is  not  so  easy,  however, 
to  form  an  opinion  of  the  Temple  of  Peace  in  its  present  ruined  state; 
but  in  so  far  as  we  can  judge  from  what  yet  remains  of  it  in  boldness 
and  majesty  of  conception  it  must  have  been  quite  equal  to  the  other 
example,  though  it  must  have  required  far  more  familiarity  with  tlie 
style  adopted  to  manage  its  design  as  appropriately  as  the  simpler 
dome  of  the  Pantheon. 

These  two  buildings  may  be  considered  as  exemplifying  the  extent 
to  Avhich  the  Romans  had  progressed  in  the  invention  of  a  new  style 
of  architecture  and  the  state  in  which  they  left  it  to  their  successors. 
It  may  however  be  worth  while  pointing  out  how,  in  transplanting 
Roman  architecture  to  their  new  capital  on  the  shores  of  the  Bos- 
phorus,  the  semi-oriental  nation  seized  on  its  own  circular  form, 
and,  modifying  and  moulding  it  to  its  purpose,  wrought  out  the 
Byzantine  style ;  in  which  the  dome  is  the  great  feature,  almost  to  the 
total  exclusion  of  the  rectangular  form  with  its  intersecting  vaults. 
On  tlie  other  hand,  the  rectangular  form  was  appropriated  by  the 
nations  of  the  West  with  an  equally  distinct  rejection  of  the  circular 
and  domical  forms,  except  in  those  cases  in  which  we  find  an  Eastern 
people  still  incorporated  with  them.  Thus  in  Italy  both  styles  con- 
tinued long  in  use,  the  one  in  baptisteries,  the  other  in  churches, 
but  always  kept  distinct,  as  in  Rome.  In  France  they  were  so  com- 
pletely fused  into  each  other  that  it  requires  considerable  knowledge 
of  architectural  analysis  to  separate  them  again  into  their  component 
parts.  In  England  we  rejected  the  circular  form  altogether,  and  so 
they  did  eventually  in  Germany,  except  when  under  French  influence. 
Each  race  reclaimed  its  own  among  the  spoils  of  Rome,  and  used  it 
with  the  improvements  it  had  acquired  during  its  employment  in  the 
Imperial  city. 

Orders. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  the  student  in  attempting  to  classify 
the  numerous  examples  of  Roman  architecture  is  the  immense  variety 
of  purposes  to  which  it  is  applied,  as  compared  with  previous  styles. 
In  Egypt  architecture  was  applied  only  to  palaces  and  tombs.  In 
Greece  it  was  almost  wholly  confined  to  temples  and  theatres ;  and  in 
Etruria  to  tombs.  It  is  in  Rome  that  we  first  feel  that  we  have  not 
to  deal  with  either  a  Theocracy  or  a  kingdom,  but  with  a  great  people, 
who  for  the  first  time  in  the  world's  history  rendered  architecture  sub- 
servient to  the  myriad  wants  of  the  many-lieaded  monster.  It  thus 
happens  that  in  the  Roman  cities  in  addition  to  temples  we  find 
basilicas,  theatres  and  amphitheatres,  baths,  palaces,  tombs,  arches  of 
triumph  and  pillars  of  victory,  gates,  bridges,  and  aqueducts,  all 
equally  objects  of  architectural  skill.  The  best  of  these,  in  fact,  are 
those  which  from  previous  neglect  in  other  countries  are  here  stamped 


298 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


with  originality.  These  would  have  been  noble  works  indeed  had  it 
not  been  that  the  Romans  unsuccessfully  applied  to  them  those  orders 
and  details  of  architecture  which  were  intended  only  to  be  applied  to 
temples  by  other  nations.  In  the  time  of  Constantine  these  orders 
had  nearly  died  out,  and  were  only  subordinately  used  for  decorative 
purposes.  In  a  little  while  they  would  have  died  out  altogether,  and 
the  Roman  would  have  become  a  new  and  complete  style ;  but,  as 
before  remarked,  this  did  not  take  place,  and  the  most  ancient  orders 
therefore  still  remain  an  essential  part  of  Roman  art.  We  find  the 
old  orders  predominating  in  the  age  of  Augustus,  and  we  see  them 
gradually  die  out  as  we  approach  that  of  Constantine. 


Doric. 


Adopting  the  usual  classification,  the  first  of  the  Roman  orders  is 
the  Doric,  which,  like  everything  else  in  this  style,  takes  a  place 
about  half-way  between  the  Tuscan  wooden  posts  and  the  nobly  simple 

order  of  the  Greeks.  It  no  doubt  was 
a  great  improvement  on  the  former, 
but  for  monumental  purposes  infinitely 
inferior  to  the  latter.  It  was  however 
more  manageable ;  and  for  forums  or 
courtyards,  or  as  a  three-quarter  column 
between  arcades,  it  was  better  adapted 
than  the  severer  Greek  style,  which, 
when  so  employed,  not  only  loses  almost 
all  its  beauty,  but  becomes  more  un- 
meaning than  the  Roman.  This  fact 
was  apparently  recognized ;  for  there 
is  not,  so  far  as  is  known,  a  single  Doric 
temple  throughout  the  Roman  world. 
It  would  in  consequence  be  most  unfair 
to  institute  a  comparison  between  a 
mere  utilitarian  prop  used  only  in  civil 
buildings  and  an  order  which  the  most 
refined  artists  in  the  world  spent  all  their  ingenuity  in  rendering  the 
most  perfect,  because  it  was  devoted  to  the  highest  religious  purposes. 

The  addition  of  an  independent  base  made  the  order  much  more 
generally  useful,  and  its  adoption  brought  it  much  more  into  harmony 
with  the  other  two  existing  orders,  which  would  appear  to  have  been 
the  principal  object  of  its  introduction.  The  keynote  of  Roman 
architecture  was  the  Corinthian  order ;  and  as,  from  the  necessities  of 
their  tall,  many-storied  buildings,  the  Romans  were  forced  to  use  the 
three  orders  together,  often  one  over  the  other,  it  was  indispensable 
that  the  three  should  be  reduced  to  something  like  harmony.  This 


Doric  order. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  III. 


ORDERS. 


299 


was  accordingly  done,  but  at  the  expense  of  the  Doric  order,  which, 
except  when  thus  used  in  combination,  must  be  confessed  to  have 
very  little  claim  to  our  admiration. 


*  Ionic. 

The  Romans  were  much  more  unfortunate  in  their  modifications- 
of  the  Ionic  order  than  in  those  which  they  introduced  into  the  Doric. 
They  never  seem  to  have  either  liked  or  understood  it,  nor  to  have 
employed  it  except  as  a  mezzo  termine  between  the  other  two.  In  its 
own  native  East  this  order  had  originally  only  been  used  in 
porticoes  between  piers  or  ant(je^  where  ^ 
of  course  only  one  face  was  shown, 
and  there  were  no  angles  to  be  turned. 
When  the  Greeks  adopted  it  they  used 
it  in  temples  of  Doric  form,  and 
in  consequence  were  obliged  to  intro- 
duce a  capital  at  each  angle,  with  two 
voluted  faces  in  juxtaposition  at  right 
angles  to  one  anotlier.  In  some  instances 
—  internally  at  least  —  as  at  Bassie 
(Woodcut  No.  138)  they  used  a  capital 
with  four  faces.  The  Romans,  impatient 
of  control,  eagerly  seized  on  this  modifi- 
cation, but  never  quite  got  over  the  ex- 
treme difficulty  of  its  employment.  With 
them  the  angular  volutes  became  mere 
horns,  and  even  in  the  best  examples 
the  capital  wants  harmony  and  meaning. 

When  used  as  a  three-quarter  column  these  alterations  were  not 
required  and  then  the  order  resembled  more  its  original  form ;  but 
even  in  this  state  it  was  never  equal  to  the  Greek  examples,  and 
gradually  deteriorated  to  the  corrupt  application  of  it  in  the  Temple 
of  Concord  in  the  Forum,  which  is  the  most  degenerate  example  of 
the  order  now  to  be  found  in  Roman  remains. 


180.   Ionic  order. 


COKINTHIAN. 

The  fate  of  this  order  in  the  hands  of  the  Romans  was  different 
from  that  of  the  other  two.  The  Doric  and  Ionic  orders  had  reached 
their  acme  of  perfection  in  the  hands  of  the  Grecian  artists,  and  seem 
to  have  become  incapable  of  further  improvement.  The  Corinthian, 
on  the  contrary,  was  a  recent  conception ;  and  although  nothing  can 
surpass  the  elegance  and  grace  with  which  the  Greeks  adorned  it,  the 
new  capital  never  acquired  with  them  that  fulness  and  strength  so 


300 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


requisite  to  render  it  an  appropriate  architectural  ornament.  These 
were  added  to  it  by  the  Romans,  or  rather  perhaps  by  Grecian 
artists  acting  under  their  direction,  who  thus,  as  shown  in  Woodcut 
Ko.  181,  produced  an  order  which  for  richness  combined  with  propor- 
tion and  architec-   


111 


L 


1  ■  1 

J] 

tural  fitness  has 
hardly  been  sur- 
passed. The  base 
is  elegant  and 
appropriate ;  the 
shaft  is  of  the  most  pleasing 
proportion,  and  the  fluting 
gives  it  just  the  requisite 
degree  of  richness  and  no 
more ;  while  the  capital 
though  bordering  on  over- 
ornamentation,  is  so  well 
arranged  as  to  appear  just 
suited  to  the  work  it  has  to 
do.  The  acanthus-leaves,  it 
is  true,  approach  the  very 
verge  of  that  degree  of  direct 
imitation  of  nature  which, 
though  allowable  in  architec- 
tural ornaments,  is  seldom 
advisable ;  they  are,  how- 
ever, disposed  so  formally, 
and  there  still  remains  so 
much  that  is  conventional  in 
them,  that,  though  perhaps 
not  justly  open  to  criticism 
on  this  account,  they  are 
nevertheless  a  very  extreme 
example. 

The  entablature  is  not  so 
admirable  as  the  column.  The 
architrave  is  too  richly 
carved.  It  is  evident,  how- 
ever, that  this  arose  from  the 
artist  having  copied  in  carv- 
ing what  the  Greeks  had  only 

painted,  and  thereby  produced  a  complexity  far  from  pleasing. 

The  frieze,  as  we  now  find  it,  is  perfectly  plain  ;  but  this  un- 
doubtedly was  not  the  case  when  originally  erected.  It  either  must 
have  been  painted  (in  which  case  the  whole  order  of  course  was  also 


181.   Corinthian  Order.   From  the  Temple  of  Jupiter 
Stator. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  III. 


ORDERS. 


301 


])ainted),  or  ornamented  with  scrolls  or  figures  in  bronze,  which  may 
probably  have  been  gilt. 

The  cornice  is  perhaps  open  to  the  same  criticism  as  the  archi- 
trave, of  being  over-rich,  though  tliis  evidently  arose  from  the  same 
cause,  viz.,  reproducing  in  carving  what  was  originally  only  painted  ; 
which,  to  our  Northern  eyes  at  least,  appears  more  Mi)propriate  for 
internal  than  for  external  decoration,  though,  under  the  purer  skies 
where  it  was  introduced  and  used,  this  remark  may  be  hardly 
applicable. 

The  order  of  the  portico  of  the  Pantheon  is,  according  to  our 
notions,  a  nobler  specimen  of  what  an  external  pillar  should  be  than 
that  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator.  The  shafts  are  of  one  block, 
unfluted  ;  the  capital  plainer;  and  the  whole  entablature,  though  as 
cori-ectly  proportional,  is  far  less  ornamented,  and  more  suited  to  the 
greater  simplicity  of  tlie  whole. 

The  order  of  the  Temple  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina  is  another 
example  intermediate  between  these  two.  The  columns  are  in  this 
instance  very  sindlar  to  those  of  the  Pantheon,  and  the  architrave  is 
plain.  The  frieze,  however,  is  ornamented  with  more  taste  than  any 
other  in  Rome,  and  is  a  very  pleasing  example  of  those  conventional 
representations  of  plants  and  animals  which  are  so  well  suited  to 
architectural  purposes  —  more  like  Nature  than  those  of  the  Greeks, 
but  still  avoiding  direct  imitation  sufficiently  to  escape  the  affectation 
of  pretending  to  appear  what  it  is  not  and  cannot  be. 

The  Maison  Carree  at  Nimes  ]n'esents  an  example  of  a  frieze  orna- 
mented with  exquisite  taste,  while  at  Baalbec,  and  in  some  other 
examples,  we  have  them  so  over-ornamented  that  the  effect  is  far  more 
offensive,  from  utter  want  of  repose,  than  the  frieze  in  the  Temple  of 
Jupiter  Stator  ever  could  be  from  its  baldness. 

Besides  these  there  are  at  least  fifty  varieties  of  Corinthian  capitals 
to  be  found,  either  in  Rome  or  in  various  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
all  executed  within  the  three  centuries  during  wdiich  Rome  continued 
to  be  the  imperial  city.  Some  of  them  are  remarkable  for  that  elegant 
simplicity  which  so  evidently  betrays  the  hand  of  a  Grecian  artist, 
while  others  again  show  a  lavish  exuberance  of  ornament  which  is  but 
too  characteristic  of  Roman  art  in  general.  Many,  however,  contain 
the  germs  of  something  better  than  was  accomplished  in  that  age; 
and  a  collection  of  them  would  afford  more  useful  suggestions  for 
designing  capitals  than  have  yet  been  available  to  modern  artists. 

Composite  Order. 

Among  their  various  attempts  to  improve  the  order  which  has 
just  been  described,  the  Romans  hit  upon  one  which  is  extremely 
characteristic  of  their  whole  style  of  art.    This  is  known  by  the 


302 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


liiuuuuuuijm 


182.   Composite  Order. 


distinguishing  name  of  the  Composite  order,  though  virtually  more 
like  the  typical  examples  of  the  Corinthian  order  than  many  of  those 

classed  under  the  latter  denomination. 

The  greatest  defect  of  the  Corinthian 
capital  is  the  weakness  of  the  small  volutes 
supporting  the  angles  of  the  abacus.  A 
true  artist  would  have  remedied  this  by 
adding  to  their  strength  and  carrying  up 
the  fulness  of  the  capital  to  the  top.  The 
Romans  removed  the  whole  of  the  upper 
part,  and  substituted  an  Ionic  capital 
instead.  Their  only  original  idea,  if  it 
may  be  so  called,  in  art  was  that  of 
putting  two  dissimilar  things  together 
to  make  one  which  should  combine  the 
beauties  of  both,  thougli  as  a  rule  the  one 
generally  serves  to  destroy  the  other.  In 
the  Composite  capital  they  never  could 
hide  the  junction ;  and  consequently, 
though  rich,  and  in  some  respects  an 
improvement  on  the  order  out  of  which  it  grew,  this  capital  never 
came  into  general  use,  and  has  seldom  found  favor  except  amongst 

the  blindest  admirers  of 
all  that  the  Romans  did. 

In  the  latter  days  of 
the  Empire,  the  Romans 
attempted  another  inno- 
vation which  promised 
far  better  success,  and 
with  very  little  more  elab- 
oration would  have  been 
a  great  gain  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  architectural 
design.  This  Avas  the 
introduction  of  the  Per- 
sian or  Assyrian  base, 
modified  to  suit  the  de- 
tails of  the  Corinthian  or 
Composite  orders.  If  they 
had  always  used  this  in- 
stead of  the  square  pedes- 
tals on  which  they  mounted  their  columns,  and  had  attenuated  the 
pillars  slightly  when  used  with  arcades,  they  would  have  avoided 
many  of  the  errors  they  fell  into.  This  application,  however,  came 
too  late  to  be  generally  used ;  and  the  forms  already  introduced  con- 


183. 


Corinthian  Base,  founti  in  Church  of  St.  Praxede  in 
Kome. 


:bk.  IV.  ch.  III. 


COMPOSITE  ARCADES. 


303 


tinued  to  prevail.  At  the  same  time  it  is  evident  that  a  Persepolitan 
base  for  an  Ionic  and  even  for  a  Corinthian  column  would  be  amongst 
the  greatest  improvements  that  could  now  be  introduced,  especially 
for  internal  architecture. 

Composite  Arcades. 

The  true  Roman  order,  however,  was  not  any  of  these  columnar 
ordinances  we  have  been  enumerating,  but  an  arrangement  of  two  pil- 
lars placed  at  a  distance  from  one  another  nearly  equal  to  their  own 
height,  and  having  a  very  long  entablature,  which  in  consequence 
required  to  be  supported  in  the  centre  by  an  arch  springing  from 
piers.  This,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  annexed  woodcut,  was  in  fact 
merely  a  screen  of  Grecian  architecture  placed  in  front  of  a  construc- 
tion of  Etruscan  design.  Though  not 
without  a  certain  richness  of  effect, 
still,  as  used  by  the  Romans,  these 
two  systems  remain  too  distinctly  dis- 
similar for  the  result  to  be  pleasing, 
and  their  use  necessitated  certain 
supplemental  arrangements  by  no 
means  agreeable.  In  the  first  place, 
the  columns  had  to  be  mounted  on 
pedestals,  or  otherwise  an  entablature 
proportional  to  their  size  would  have 
been  too  heavy  and  too  important  for 
a  thing  so  useless  and  so  avowedly  a 
mere  ornament.  ^  A  projecting  key-  ^^^.^ 
stone  was  also  introduced  into  the 

arch.  This  was  unobjectionable  in  itself,  but  when  projecting  so  far 
as  to  do  the  duty  of  an  intermediate  capital,  it  overpowered  the  arch, 
without  being  equal  to  the  work  required  of  it. 

The  Romans  used  these  arcades  with  all  the  three  orders,  frequently 
one  over  the  other,  and  tried  various  expedients  to  harmonize  the  con- 
struction with  the  ornamentation,  but  without  much  effect.  They 
seem  always  to  have  felt  the  discordance  as  a  blemish,  and  at  last  got 
rid  of  it,  but  whether  they  did  so  in  the  best  way  is  not  quite  clear. 
The  most  obvious  mode  of  effecting  this  would  no  doubt  have  been 
by  omitting  the  pillars  altogether,  bending  the  architrave,  as  is  usually 
done,  round  the  arch,  and  then  inserting  the  frieze  and  cornices  into 
the  wall,  using  them  as  a  string-course.  A  slight  degree  of  practice 
would  soon  have  enabled  them  —  by  panelling  the  pier,  cutting  off 
its  angles,  or  some  such  expedient  —  to  have  obtained  the  degree  of 
lightness  or  of  ornament  they  required,  and  so  really  to  have  invented 
a  new  order. 


304 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


This,  however,  was  not  the  course  that  the  Romans  pursued. 
What  they  did  was  to  remove  the  pier  altogether,  and  to  substitute 
for  it  the  pillar  taken  down  from  its  pedestal.  This  of  course  was  not 
effected  at  once,  but  was  the  result  of  many  trials  and  expedients. 
One  of  the  earliest  of  these  is  observed  in  the  Ionic  Temple  of  Con- 
cord before  alluded  to,  in  which  a  concealed  arch  is  thrown  from  the 
head  of  each  pillar,  but  above  the  entablature,  so  as  to  take  the  whole 
weight  of  the  superstructure  from  off  tlie  cornice  between  the  pillars. 
When  once  this  was  done,  it  was  perceived  that  so  deep  an  entablature 


185.    View  in  Courtyard  of  Palace  at  Siialatro.' 


was  no  longer  required,  and  that  it  might  be  either  wholly  omitted, 
as  Avas  sometimes  done  in  the  centre  intercolumniation,  or  very  much 
reduced.  There  is  an  old  temple  at  Talavera  in  Spain,  which  is  a 
good  example  of  the  former  expedient ;  and  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  built  by  Constantine  at  Jerusalem,  is  a  remarkable  instance 
of  the  latter.  There  the  architrave  is  cut  off  so  as  merely  to  form  a 
block  over  each  of  the  pillars,  and  the  frieze  and  cornice  only  are 
carried  across  from  one  of  these  blocks  to  the  other,  while  a  bold 
arch  is  thrown  from  pillar  to  pillar  over  these,  so  as  to  take  any  weight 
from  off  a  member  which  has  at  last  become  a  mere  ornamental  part 
of  the  style. 

In  Diocletian's  reign  we  find  all  these  changes  already  introduced 


1  It  has  recently  become  the  fashion 
to  spell  the  name  Spalato  or  Spelato. 
The  mode  of  writing  it  adopted  in  this 


work  is  that  used  by  Adams,  which  has 
consequently  become  classical  among 
architects. 


Bk.  TV.  Ch  in. 


TEMPLES. 


305 


into  domestic  architecture,  as  shown  in  Woodcut  No.  185,  representing 
tlie  great  court  of  his  pahice  at  Spalatro,  where,  at  one  end,  the 
entablature  is  bent  into  tlie  form  of  an  arch  for  the  central  inter- 
columniation,  while  at  the  sides  the  arches  spring  directly  from  the 
capitals  of  the  columns. 

Had  the  Romans  at  this  period  been  more  desirous  to  improve 
their  external  architecture,  there  is  little  doubt  that  they  would  have 
adopted  the  expedient  of  omitting  the  entire  entablature;  but  at  this 
time  almost  all  their  efforts  were  devoted  to  internal  improvement, 
and  not  unfrequently  at  the  exj^ense  of  the  exterior.  Indeed  the  whole 
history  of  Roman  art,  from  the  time  of  Augustus  to  that  of  Constan- 
tine,  is  a  transition  from  the  external  architecture  of  the  Greeks  to 
the  internal  embellishment  of  the  Christians.  At  first  we  sec  the 
cells  of  the  temple  gradually  enlarged  at  the  expense  of  the  peristyle, 
and  finally,  in  some  instances,  entirely  overpowering  them.  Their 
basilicas  and  halls  become  more  important  than  their  porticoes,  and 
the  exterior  is  in  almost  every  instance  sacrificed  to  internal  arrange- 
ments. For  an  interior,  an  arch  resting  on  a  circular  column  is 
obviously  far  more  appropriate  than  one  resting  on  a  pier.  Externally, 
on  the  contrary,  the  square  pier  is  most  suitable,  because  a  pillar 
cannot  support  a  wall  of  sufficient  thickness.  This  defect  was  not 
remedied  until  the  Gothic  architects  devised  the  plan  of  coupling  two 
or  more  pillars  together ;  but  this  point  had  not  been  reached  at  the 
time  when  with  the  fall  of  Rome  all  progress  in  art  was  effectually 
checked  for  a  time. 

Temples. 

There  is  perhaps  nothing  that  strikes  the  inquirer  into  the  archi- 
tectural history  of  Rome  more  than  the  extreme  insignificance  of  her 
temples,  as  compared  with  the  other  buildings  of  the  imperial  city 
and  with  some  contemporary  temples  found  in  the  provinces.  The 
only  temple  which  remains  at  all  worthy  of  such  a  capital  is  the 
Pantheon.  All  others  are  now  mere  fragments,  from  which  we  can 
with  difficulty  restore  even  the  plans  of  the  buildings,  far  less  judge 
of  their  effect.  We  have  now  no  means  of  forming  an  opinion  of  the 
great  national  temple  of  the  Capitoline  Jove,  no  trace  of  it  nor  any 
intelligible  description,  having  been  preserved  to  the  present  time. 
Its  having  been  of  Etruscan  origin,  and  retaining  its  original  form  to 
the  latest  day,  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that  the  temple  itself  was 
small,  and  that  its  magnificence,  if  any,  was  confined  to  the  enclosure 
and  to  the  substructure,  which  may  have  been  immense. 

Of  the  Augustan  age  we  have  nothing  but  the  remains  of  three 
temples,  each  consisting  of  only  three  columns ;  and  the  excavations 
that  have  been  made  around  them  have  not  sufficed  to  make  even 
their  plans  tolerably  clear. 
VOL.  I.  —  20 


306 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I.. 


The  most  remarkable  was  that  of  Jupiter  Stator  in  the  Forum,  the 
beautiful  details  of  which  have  been  already  alluded  to  and  described.. 
This  temple  was  octastyle  in  front.  It  was  raised  on  a  stylobate  22  ft. 
in  height,  the  extreme  width  of  which  was  98  ft.,  and  this  corresponds 
as  closely  as  possible  with  100  Roman  ft.  The  angular  columns  were 
85  ft.  from  centre  to  centre.  The  height  of  the  pillars  was  48  ft.,  and 
that  of  the  entablature  12  ft  6  in.i  It  is  probable  that  the  whole 
height  to  the  apex  of  the  pediment  was  nearly  equal  to  the  extreme 
width,  and  that  it  was  designed  to  be  so. 

The  pillars  certainly  extended  on  both  flanks,  and  the  temple  is 
generally  restored  as  peristylar,  but  apparently  without  any  authority.. 
From  the  analogy  of  the  other  temples  it  seems  more  probable  that 
there  were  not  more  than  eight  or  ten  pillars  on  each  side,  and  that 
the  apse  of  the  cella  formed  the  termination  opposite  the  portico. 

The  temple  nearest  to  this  in  situation  and  style  is  that  of  Jupiter 
Tonans.2  The  order  in  this  instance  is  of  slightly  inferior  dimensions 
to  that  of  the  temple  just  described,  and  of  very  inferior  execution. 
The  temple,  too,  was  very  much  smaller,  having  only  six  columns  in 
front,  and  from  its  situation  it  could  not  well  have  had  more  than  that 
number  on  the  flanks,  so  that  its  extreme  dimensions  were  probably 
about  70  ft.  by  85. 

The  third  is  the  Temple  of  Mars  Ultor,  of  which  a  plan  is  annexed ;: 

for  though  now  as  completely  decayed  as 
the  other  two,  in  the  time  of  Ant.  Sabacco 
and  Falladio  there  seem  to  have  been 
sufiicient  remains  to  justify  an  attempt 
at  restoration.  As  will  be  seen,  it  is 
nearly  square  in  plan  (112  ft.  by  120). 
The  cella  is  here  a  much  more  important 
part  than  is  usual  in  Greek  temples,  and 
terminates  in  an  apse,  which  afterwards^ 
became  characteristic  of  all  places  of  wor- 
ship. Behind  the  cella,  and  on  each  side 
was  a  lofty  screen  of  walls  and  arches, 
part  of  which  still  remain,  and  form 
quite  a  new  adjunct,  unlike  anything  hitherto  met  with  attached  to 
any  temple  now  known. 


186. 


Temple  of  Mars  Ultor. 
Creasy's  "Rome.") 
100  ft.  to  1  in. 


(From 
Scale 


*  These  dimensions,  with  all  those 
that  follow,  unless  otherwise  specified, 
are  taken  from  Taylor  and  Creasy's 
"Architectural  Antiquities  of  Rome," 
London,  1821.  They  seem  more  to  he 
depended  upon  than  any  others  I  am 
acquainted  with. 

These  two  temples,  like  almost  all 
the  others  of  Rome,  have  recently  heen 


renamed  by  the  Roman  or  rather  Ger- 
man antiquaries.  The  Jupiter  Tonans- 
is  now  the  Temple  of  Saturn,  and  the 
Jupiter  Stator  is  decreed  to  have  heen  a 
Temple  of  Minerva.  I  have  preferred 
the  names  by  which  they  are  currently 
known,  as  the  architecture  is  of  more 
importance  here  than  the  archaeology. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  III. 


TEMPLES. 


307 


The  next  class  of  temples,  called  pseudo-peripteral  (or  those  in 
which  the  cella  occupies  the  whole  of  the  after-part),  are  generally 
more  modern,  certainly  more  completely  Roman  than  these  last.  One 
of  the  best  specimens  at  Rome  is  the  Temple  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina, 
a  small  building  measuring  72  ft.  by  120.  There  is  also  a  very  elegant 
little  Ionic  temple  of  this  class  called  that  of  Fortuna  Virilis ;  while 
the  Ionic  temple  at  Concord,  built  by  Vespasian,  and  above  alluded  to,, 
appears  also  to  have  been  of  this  class.  So  was  the  temple  in  the  forum 
at  Pompeii ;  but  the  finest  specimen  now  remaining  to  us  is  the  so-called 
Maison  Carree  at  Nimes,  which  is  indeed  one  of  the  most  elegant 
temples  of  the  Roman  world,  owing  probably  a  great  deal  of  its  beauty 
to  the  taste  of  the  Grecian  colonists  long  settled  in  its  neighborhood. 
It  is  hexastyle,  with  11  columns  in  the  flanks,  3  of  which  stand  free,. 

and  belong  to  the  portico ;  the  remaining  8  are   

attached  to  the  walls  of  the  cella.  The  temple 
is  small,  only  45  ft.  by  85  ;  but  such  is  the  beauty 
of  its  proportions  and  the  elegance  of  its  details 
that  it  strikes  every  beholder  with  admiration. 

The  date  of  this  temple  has  not  been  satis- 
factorily ascertained.  From  the  nail-holes  of  the 
inscription  on  the  frieze  it  has  been  attempted 
to  make  out  the  names  Caius  and  Lucius  Caesar, 
and  there  is  nothing  in  the  style  of  its  architecture 
to  contradict  this  hypothesis.  Even  if  the  build- 
ings in  the  capital  were  such  as  to  render  this  date  ambiguous,  it 
would  scarcely  be  safe  to  apply  any  argument  derived  from  them 
to  a  provincial  example  erected  in  the  midst  of  a  Grecian  colony. 
But  for  their  evidence  we  might  almost  be  inclined  to  fancy  its  style 
represented  the  age  of  Trajan. 

The  Temple  of  Diana  in  the  same  city  is  another  edifice  of  singular 
beauty  of  detail,  and  interesting  from  the  pecu- 
liarity of  its  plan.  Exclusive  of  the  portico  it  is 
nearly  square,  70  ft.  by  65,  and  is  divided  into 
three  aisles,  which  are  all  covered  with  ribbed 
stone  vaults  of  a  larger  and  bolder  design  in  de- 
tail than  those  of  Gothic  form  and  singularly 
interesting  as  the  origin  of  much  that  we  find 
afterwards.  There  are  some  of  the  arrangements 
of  this  building  which  in  its  ruined  state  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  understand,  but  these  are  not  important. 

Throughout  this  building  the  details  of  the  architecture  are  unsur-. 
passed  for  variety  and  elegance  by  anything  found  in  the  metrop- 
olis, and  are  applied  here  with  a  freedom  and  elegance  bespeaking 
the  presence  of  a  Grecian  mind  even  in  this  remote  corner  of  the 
empire.    Another  interesting  feature  is  the  porch.   This  was  supported 


187.  Plan  of  Maison 
Carree  at  Nimes. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


188.   Plan  of  Temple 
of  Diana  at  Nimes. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


308 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE 


Part  1. 


189.    View  of  the  Interior  of  the  Temple  of  Diana  at  Nimes.    (From  Laborde.) 


by  four  sleiuler  columns  of  singularly  elegant  design,  but  placed  so 
widely  ai)art  tliat  they  could  not  have  carried  a  stone  entablature.  It 
is  difKcult  to  guess  what  could  have  been  the  form  of  the  wooden 
ones  ;  but  a  mortice  which  still  exists  in  the  walls  of  the  temple  shows 
that  it  must  have  been  eight  or  ten  feet  deep,  and  therefore  probably 
of  Etruscan  form  (Woodcut  No.  167) ;  though  it  may  have  assumed 
a  circular  arched  form  between  the  pillars. ^ 

Another  jieculiarity  is,  that  the  light  was  introduced  over  the 
portico  by  a  great  semicircular  window,  as  is  done  in  the  Buddhist 
caves  in  India;  which,  so  far  as  I  know,  is  the  most  perfect  mode  of 
lighting  the  interior  of  a  temple  which  has  yet  been  discovered. 

Not  far  from  the  Colosseum,  in  the  direction  of  the  Forum,  are 
still  to  be  seen  the  remains  of  a  great  double  temple  built  by  the 
Emi)eror  Hadrian,  and  dedicated  to  Venus  and  Rome,  and  consisting 
of  the  ruins  of  its  two  cells,  each  about  70  ft.  square,  covered  with 
tunnel-vaults,  and  placed  back  to  back,  so  that  their  apses  touch  one 
another.  These  stand  on  a  platform  480  ft.  long  by  330  ft.  wide  ;  and 
it  is  generally  supposed  that  on  the  edge  of  this  once  stood  56  great 
columns,  65  ft.  in  height,  thus  moulding  the  whole  into  one  great 
peripteral  temple.  Some  fragments  of  such  pillars  are  said  to  be 
found  in  the  neighborhood,  but  not  one  is  now  erect, —  not  even  a 


1  Laborde,  "  Monumens  de  la  France,"  vol.  i.  pis.  xxix.  xxx.  p.  68. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  III. 


TEMPLES. 


309 


base  is  in  its  place,  —  nor  can  any  of  its  columns  be  traced  to  any 
other  buildings.  Tliis  part,  therefore,  of  the  arrangement  is  very  i)rob- 
lematical,  and  I  should  be  rather  inclined  to  restore  it,  as  Palladio 
and  the  older  architects  have  done,  with  a  corridor  of  ten  small 
columns  in  front  of  each  of  the  cells.  If  v^^e  could  assume  the  plan 
of  this  temple  to  have  been  really  peripteral,  as  supposed,  it  must 
have  been  a  building  worthy  of  the  imperial  city  and  of  the  magni- 
ficence of  the  emperor  to  whom  its  erection  is  ascribed. 

More  perfect  and  more  interesting  than  any  of  these  is  the  Pantheon, 
which  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  finest  temples  of  the  ancient  world. 
Externally  its  effect  is  very  much 
destroyed  by  its  two  parts,  the 
circular  and  the  rectangular,  being 
so  dissimilar  in  style  and  so  incon- 
gruously joined  together.  The  por- 
tico especially,  in  itself  the  finest 
which  Rome  exhibits,  is  very  much 
injured  by  being  prefixed  to  a  mass 
which  overpowers  it  and  does  not 
harmonize  with  any  of  its  lines. 
The  pitch,  too,  of  its  pediment  is 
perhaps  somewhat  too  high,  but, 
notwithstanding  all  this,  its  sixteen 
columns,the  shaft  of  each  composed 
of  a  single  block,  and  the  simple 
grandeur  of  the  details,  render  it 
perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  ex- 
ample of  its  class. 

The  pillars  are  arranged  in  the  Etruscan  fashion,  as  they  were 
originally  disposed  in  front  of  three-celled  temples.  As  they  now  stand, 
however,  they  are  added  unsynimetrically  to  a  rotunda,  and  in  so 
clumsy  a  fashion  that  the  two  are  certainly  not  part  of  the  same  design 
and  do  not  belong  to  the  same  age.  Either  it  was  that  the  portico 
was  added  to  the  pre-existing  rotunda,  or  that  the  rotunda  is  long 
subsequent  to  the  portico.  Unfortunately  the  two  inscriptions  on  the 
])ortico  hardly  help  to  a  solution  of  the  difiiculty.  The  principal  one 
states  that  it  was  built  by  M.  Agrippa,  but  tlie  "  it  "may  refer  to  the 
rotunda  only,  and  may  have  been  put  there  by  those  who  in  the 
time  of  Aurelius'  repaired  the  temple  which  had  "  fallen  into  decay 
from  age."  This  hardly  could,  under  any  circumstances,  be  predicated 
of  the  rotunda,  which  shows  no  sign  of  decay  during  the  last  seventeen 


190.   Plan  of  Pantheon  at  Rome. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


^  IMP.  C^S.  M.  AVRELIVS  ANTONINVS 
PIVS  FELIX  AVG.  TRIB.  POTEST  V.  COS. 
PROCOS.   PANTHEVM  VETVSTATE  COR- 


RVPTVM  CVM  OMNI  CVLTV  RESTITVER- 

VNT.  Isabelle,  ":^ldifices  Circulaires," 
p.  37,  pi.  xii. 


310 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


centuries  of  ill-treatment  and  neglect,  and  may  last  for  as  many  more 
without  injury  to  its  stability,  but  might  be  said  of  a  portico  which, 
if  of  wood,  as  Etruscan  porticoes  usually  were,  may  easily  in  200  years 
have  required  repairs  and  rebuilding.  From  a  more  careful  examina. 
tion  on  the  spot,  I  am  convinced  that  the  portico  was  added  at  some 
subsequent  period  to  the  rotunda.  If  by  Agrippa,  then  the  dome 
must  belong  to  Republican  times ;  if  by  Severus  it  may  have  been,  as 
is  generally  supposed,  the  hall  of  the  Baths  of  Agrippa. i  Altogether 
I  know  of  no  building  whose  date  and  arrangements  are  so  singular 


191.    Half  Elevation,  half  Section,  of  the  Pantheon  at  Rome.    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


and  so  exceptional  as  this.  Though  it  is,  and  always  must  have  been, 
one  of  the  most  prominent  buildings  in  Rome,  and  most  important 
from  its  size  and  design,  I  know  of  no  other  building  in  Rome  whose 
date  or  original  destination  it  is  so  difficult  to  determine. 

Internally  perhaps  the  greatest  defect  of  the  building  is  a  want  of 
height  in  the  perpendicular  part,  which  the  dome  appears  to  overpower 
and  crush.  This  mistake  is  aggravated  by  the  lower  part  being  cut 
up  into  two  stories,  an  attic  being  placed  over  the  lower  order.  The 


'  AVhen  the  first  edition  of  this  work 
was  written  I  beheved  the  rotunda  to 
have  been  added  to  the  portico  by  Sev- 
erus; and  if  this  were  so  it  would  get 
over  many  of  the  difficulties  arising  from 
its  size  and  the  character  of  its  brick- 


work. My  personal  examination,  how- 
ever, has  forced  me  very  unwillingly  to 
give  up  this  hypothesis.  It  certainly 
is,  however,  very  astonishing  that  such 
a  vault  should  have  been  attempted  at 
so  early  an  age. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  III. 


TEMPLES. 


311 


former  defect  may  have  arisen  from  the  architect  wishing  to  keep  tlie 
walls  in  some  proportion  to  the  portico.  The  latter  is  a  peculiarity 
of  the  age  in  which  I  suppose  this  temple  to  have  been  remodelled, 
when  two  or  more  stories  seem  to  have  become  indispensable  requi- 
sites of  architectural  design.  We  must  ascribe  also  to  the  practice  of 
the  age  the  method  of  cutting  through  the  entablature  by  the  arches 
of  the  great  niches,  as  shown  in  the  sectional  part  of  the  last  woodcut. 
It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  this  was  becoming  a  characteristic 
of  the  style  at  the  time  when  the  circular  part  of  this  temple  was 
arranged  as  it  at  present  appears. 

Notwithstanding  these  defects  and  many  others  of  detail  that  might 
be  mentioned,  there  is  a  grandeur  and  a  simplicity  in  the  proportions 
of  this  great  temple  that  render  it  still  one  of  the  very  finest  and  most 
sublime  interiors  in  the  world,  and  the  dimensions  of  its  dome,  145  ft. 
6  in.  span  by  147  in  height,  have  not  yet  been  surpassed  by  any  subse- 
quent erection.  Though  it  is  deprived  of  its  bronze  covering  and  of 
the  greater  part  of  those  ornaments  on  which  it  mainly  depended  for 
effect,  and  though  these  have  been  replaced  by  tawdry  and  incongruous 
modernisms,  still  nothing  can  destroy  the  effect  of  a  design  so  vast  and 
of  a  form  so  simply  grand.  It  possesses  moreover  one  other  element 
of  architectural  sublimity  in  having  a  single  window,  and  that  placed 
high  up  in  the  building.  I  know  of  no  other  temples  which  possess 
this  feature  except  the  great  rock-cut  Buddhist  basilicas  of  India.  In 
them  the  light  is  introduced  even  more  artistically  than  here  ;  but, 
nevertheless,  that  one  great  eye  opening  upon  heaven  is  by  far  the 
noblest  conception  for  lighting  a  building  to  be  found  in  Europe. 

Besides  this  great  rotunda  there  are  two  other  circular  temi>les 
in  or  near  Rome.  The  one  at  Tivoli,  shown 
in  plan  and  elevation  in  the  annexed  Avood- 
cuts  (Nos.  192  and  193),  has  long  been  known 
and  admired  ;  the  other,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Cloaca  Maxima,  has  a  cell  surrounded 
by  twenty  Corinthian  columns  of  singularly 
slender  proportions.  Both  these  probably 
stand  on  Etruscan  sites  ;  they  certainly  are 
Etruscan  in  form,  and  are  very  likely  sacred 
to  Pelasgic  deities,  either  Vesta  or  Cybele. 

Both  in  dimensions  and  design  they  form 
a  perfect  contrast  to  the  Pantheon,  as  might 
be  expected  from  their  both  belonging  to 
the  Augustan  age  of  art :  consequently  the 
cella  is  small,  its  interior  is  unornamented, 
and  all  the  art  and  expense  are  lavished  on 
the  external  features,  especially  on  the  peristyle ;  showing  more 
strongly   than   even  the  rectangular   temple  the   still  remaining 


192. 


Plan  of  Temple  at  Tivoli. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


193. 


Restored  Elevation  of 
Temple  at  Tivoli. 
Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


312 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  1. 


predominance  of  Grecian  taste,  which  was  gradually  dying  out  during 
the  whole  period  of  the  Empire. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  exact  dates  of  both  these  temples  are 
unknown,  for,  as  that  at  Tivoli  shows  the  stoutest  example  of  a 
Corinthian  column  known  and  that  in  Rome  the  slenderest,  it  might 
lead  to  some  important  deductions  if  we  could  be  certain  which  was 
the  older  of  the  two.  It  may  be,  however,  that  this  difference  of  style 
has  no  connection  with  the  relative  age  of  the  two  buildings,  but  that 
it  is  merely  an  instance  of  the  good  taste  of  the  age  to  which  they 
belong.  The  Roman  example,  being  placed  in  a  low  and  flat  situation, 
required  all  the  height  that  could  be  given  it ;  that  at  Tivoli,  being 
placed  on  the  edge  of  a  rock,  required  as  much  solidity  as  the  order 
would  admit  of  to  prevent  its  looking  poor  and  insecure.  A  Gothic 
or  a  Greek  architect  would  certainly  have  made  this  distinction. 
One  more  step  towards  the  modern  style  of  round  temples  was 

taken  before  the  fall  of  the  Western 
Empire,  in  the  temple  which  Diocletian 
built  in  his  palace  at  Spalatro.  Inter- 
nally the  temple  is  circular,  '28  ft.  in 
diameter,  and  the  height  of  the  per- 
pendicular part  to  the  springing  of 
the  dome  is  about  equal  to  its  width. 
This  is  a  much  more  pleasing  propor- 
tion than  we  find  in  the  Pantheon  ; 
perhaps  the  very  best  that  has  yet 
been  employed.  Externally  the  build- 
ing is  an  octagon,  surrounded  by  a 
low  dwarf  peristyle,  very  unUke  that 
employed  in  the  older  examples.  This 
194.  Plan  and  Elevation  of  Temple  iu    angularity  is  Certainly  a  great  im- 

Diocletian's  Palace  at  Spalatro.  .   .  .  , 

Scale  for  Plan  100  ft.  to  1  in.;  for  Eleva-    i)rovement,    giving    cxprcssiou  and 

tion  50  ft.  to  1  iu.  .i     i     -it  i     i?f>  i 

character  to  the  building,  and  afford- 
ing flat  faces  for  the  entrances  or  porches ;  but  the  peristyle  is  too  low, 
and  mars  the  dignity  of  the  whole.  ^ 

To  us  its  principal  interest  consists  in  its  being  so  extremely  simi- 
lar to  the  Christian  baptisteries  which  were  erected  in  the  following 
centuries,  and  which  were  copies,  but  very  slightly  altered,  from 
buildings  of  this  class. 

Athens. 

Even  assuming  that  Hadrian  completed  the  great  Temple  of  Venus 
at  Rome  in  the  manner  generally  supposed,  it  must  have  been  very 

1  This  building  is  commonly  called  a  |  pression  is  that  it  was  a  tomb,  or  at 
temple,  though  it  is  not  known  to  what  j  least  a  funereal  monument  of  some  sort, 
deity  it  was  dedicated.    My  own  im-  I 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  III. 


TEMPLES. 


313 


far  surpassed  by  the  great  Temple  of  Jupiter  Olympius  at  Athens, 
which,  though  probably  not  entirely  erected,  was  certainly  finished,  l)y 
that  emperor.  It  was  decastyle  in  front,  with  a  double  range  of  20 
columns  on  each  flank,  so  that  it  could  not  well  have  had  less  than 
120  columns,  all  about  58  ft.  in  height,  and  of  the  most  elegant 
Corinthian  order,  presenting  altogether  a  group  of  far  greater  mag- 
nificence than  any  other  temple  we  are  acquainted  with  of  its  class 
in  the  ancient  world.  Its  lineal  dimensions  also,  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  plan  (Woodcut  No.  154),  were  only  rivalled  by  the  two  great 
Sicilian  temples  at  Agrigentum  and  Selinus  (Woodcuts  Nos.  148, 149). 


195.   Kuinsof  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Olympius  at  Athens. 


It  was  171  ft.  wide  by  354  in  length,  or  nearly  the  same  dimensions  as 
the  great  Hypostyle  Hall  at  Karnac,  from  which,  howcA^er,  it  differs 
most  materially,  that  being  a  beautiful  example  of  an  interior,  this 
depending  for  all  its  magnificence  on  the  external  arrangement  of 
its  columns.  Nothing  now  remains  from  which  to  restore  its  internal 
arrangement  with  anything  like  certainty;  but  it  appears  probable 
that  the  outer  part  of  the  cella  was  arranged  as  a  peristylar  court 
open  in  the  centre,  as  shown  in  the  plan  (Woodcut  No.  154),  probably^ 
of  two  stories,  so  as  to  admit  light  into  the  interior.  This  arrange- 
ment became  so  common  in  the  early  Christian  world  that  there  must 
have  been  some  precedent  for  it ;  which,  in  addition  to  other  reasons,^ 


^  See  "  The  True  Principles  of  Beauty  j  this  arrangement  will  be  found  stated  at 
in  Art,"  p.  392,  where  the  reasons  for  |  length. 


3U 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE 


Paut  i. 


Strongly  inclines  me  to  believe  that  the  arrangement  shown  in  the 
l)lan  is  correct. 


B 


AALBEC. 


lyti.    Plan  of  Small  Temple  at 
Baalbec.  Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


The  temples  of  Palmyra  and  Kangovar  have  been  already  men- 
tioned in  speaking  of  that  of  Jerusalem,  to 
which  class  they  seem  to  belong  in  their  general 
arrangements,thougli  their  details  are  borrowed 
from  Roman  architecture.    This,  however,  is 
not  the  case  with  the  temples  at  Baalbec, 
which,  taken  together  and  with  their  accom- 
paniments, form  the  most  magnificent  temple 
group  now  left  to  us  of  their  class  and  age. 
The  great  temple,  if  completed  (which,  how- 
ever, it  probably  never  was),  would  have  been 
about  160  ft.  by  290,  and  therefore,  as  a 
Corintliian  temple,  only  inferior  to  that  of 
Jupiter  Olympius  at  Athens.    Only  nine  of 
its  colossal  columns  are  now  standing,  but  the 
bases  of  most  of  the  others  are  m  situ.  Scarcely 
less  magnificent  than  the  temple  itself  was  the 
court  in  which  it  stood,  above  380  ft.  square, 
and  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  recessed 
porticoes  of  most  exuberant  richness,  though  in 
perhaps  ratlier  questionable  taste.    In  front  of 
this  was  a  hexagonal 
court    of    very  great 
beauty,  with   a  noble 
portico   of    12  Corin- 
thian   columns,  with 
two  square  blocks  of 
masonry  at  each  end. 
The  whole   extent  of 
the  portico  is  260  ft., 
and    of    its    kind  it 
is  perhaps  unrivalled, 
certainly    among  the 
buildings  of  so  late  a 
date  as  the  period  to 
which  it  belongs. 

The    other,  or 
smaller  temple,  stands 
close    to    the  larger. 
Its  dimensions,  to  the 
usual  scale,  are  shown  in  the  plan  (Woodcut  No.  196).    It  is  larger 


197.   Elevation  of  Small  Temple  at  Baalbec. 
Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk  IV.  Ch.  III. 


TEMPLES. 


315 


than  any  of  the  Roman  peripteral  teraples,  being  117  ft.  by  227  ft. 
or  rather  exceeding  the  dimensions  of  the  Parthenon  at  Athens,  and 
its  portico  is  both  wider  and  higher  than  that  of  the  Pantheon  at 
Rome.  Had  this  portico  been  applied  to  that  building,  the  slope 
of  its  pediment  would  have  coincided  exactly  with  that  of  the  upper 
sloping  cornice,  and  would  have  been  the  greatest  possible  improve- 
ment to  that  edifice.  As  it  is,  it  certainly  is  the  best  proportioned 
and  the  most  graceful  Roman  portico  of  the  first  class  that  remains 
to  us  in  a  state  of  sufficient  completeness  to  allow  us  to  judge  of  its 
effect. 

Tlie  interior  of  the  cella  was  richly  ornamented  with  niches  and 
pilasters,  and  covered  with  a  ribbed  and  coffered  vault,  remarkable, 
like  every  part  of  this  edifice,  rather  for  the  profusion  than  for  the 
good  taste  of  its  ornaments. 

One  of  the  principal  jieculiarities  of  this  group  of  buildings  is  the 
immense  size  of  some  of  the  stones  used  in  the  substructure  of  the  great 
temple  :  three  of  these  average  about  63  ft.  in  length,  10  ft  5  in.  in 
breadth,  and  13  feet  in  height.  A  fourth,  of  similar  dimensions,  is 
lying  in  the  quarry,  which  it  is  calculated  must  weigh  alone  more 
than  1100  tons  in  its  rough  state,  or  nearly  as  much  as  one  of  the 
tubes  of  the  Britannia  Bridge.  It  is  not  easy  to  see  why  such  masses 
were  employed.  If  they  had  been  used  as  foundation  stones  their  use 
would  have  been  apparent,  but  they  are  placed  over  several  courses  of 
smaller  stones,  about  half-way  up  the  terrace  wall,  as  mere  binding 
stones,  apparently  for  show.  It  is  true-  that  in  many  places  in  the 
Bible  and  in  Josephus  nothing  is  so  much  insisted  upon  as  the  im- 
mense size  of  the  stones  used  in  the  building  of  the  temple  and  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem,  the  bulk  of  the  materials  used  appearing  to  have 
been  thought  a  matter  of  far  more  importance  than  the  architecture. 
It  probably  was  some  such  feeling  as  this  which  led  to  their  employ- 
ment here,  though,  had  these  huge  stones  been  set  upright,  as  the 
Egyptians  would  have  placed  them,  we  might  more  easily  have  under- 
stood why  so  great  an  expense  should  have  been  incurred  on  their 
account.  As  it  is,  there  seems  no  reason  for  doubting  their  being  of 
the  same  age  as  the  temples  they  support,  though  their  use  is  certainly 
exceptional  in  Roman  temples  of  this  class. 


^16 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
BASILICAS,  THEATRES,  AND  BATHS. 

CONTENTS. 

Basilicas  of  Trajan  and  Maxentius  —  Provincial  basilicas  —  Theatre  at  Orange  — 
Colosseum — Provincial  amphitheatres — Baths  of  Diocletian. 


Basilicas. 

WE  have  already  seen  that  in  size  and  magnificence  the  temples  of 
Rome  were  among  the  least  remarkable  of  her  public  buildings.  It 
may  be  doubted  whether,  in  any  respect,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Romans 
themselves,  the  temples  were  a3  important  and  venerable  as  the 
basilicas.  The  people  cared  for  government  and  justice  more  than 
for  religion,  and  consequently  paid  more  attention  to  the  affairs  of  the 
basilicas  than  to  those  of  the  temples.  Our  means  for  the  restoration 
of  this  class  of  buildings  are  now  but  small,  owing  to  their  sliglit 
construction  in  the  first  instance,  and  to  their  materials  having  been 
so  suitable  to  the  building  of  Christian  basilicas  as  to  have  been 
extensively  used  for  that  purpose.  It  happens,  however,  that  the  re- 
mains which  we  do  possess  comprise  what  we  know  to  be  the  ruins  of 
the  two  most  splendid  buildings  of  this  class  in  Rome,  and  these  are 
sufficiently  complete  to  enable  us  to  restore  their  plans  with  consider- 
able confidence.  It  is  also  fortunate  that  one  of  these,  the  Ulpian  or 
Trajan's  basilica,  is  the  typical  specimen  of  those  with  wooden  roofs ; 
the  other,  that  of  Maxentius,  commonly  called  the  Temple  of  Peace,  is 
the  noblest  of  the  vaulted  class. 

The  rectangular  part  of  Trajan's  basilica  was  180  ft.  in  width  and 
a  little  more  than  twice  that  in  length,  but,  neither  end  having  yet 
been  excavated,  its  exact  longitudinal  measurement  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained. It  was  divided  into  five  aisles  by  four  rows  of  columns,  each 
about  35  ft.  in  height,  the  centre  being  87  ft.  wide,  and  the  side-aisles 
23  ft.  4  in.  each.  The  centre  was  covered  by  a  wooden  roof  of  semi- 
circular form,  covered  apparently  with  bronze  plates  richly  ornamented 
and  gilt.  Above  the  side  aisles  was  a  gallery,  the  roof  of  which  was 
supported  by  an  upper  row  of  columns.  From  the  same  columns  also 
sprang  the  arches  of  the  great  central  aisle.    The  total  internal  height 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  IV. 


BASILICAS. 


317 


198.   Plan  of  Trajan's  Basilica  at  Rome.    Scale  100  ft  to  1  in. 
The  part  shaded  darker  is  all  that  is  uncovered. 


199.   Restored  Section  of  Trajan's  Basilica.    Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


318 


KOMAM  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


was  thus  probably  about  120  ft.,  or  liiglier  than  any  English  cathedral, 
though  not  so  high  as  some  German  and  French  churches. 

At  one  end  Avas  a  great  semicircular  apse,  the  back  part  of  which 
was  raised,  being  approached  by  a  semicircular  range  of  steps.  In 
the  centre  of  this  platform  was  the  raised  seat  of  the  quaestor  or  other 
magistrate  who  presided.  On  each  side,  upon  the  steps,  were  places 
for  the  assessors  or  others  engaged  in  the  business  being  transacted. 
In  front  of  the  apse  was  placed  an  altar,  where  sacrifice  was  performed 
before  commencing  any  important  public  business.-^ 

Externally  this  basilica  could  not  have  been  of  much  magnificence. 
It  was  entered  on  the  side  of  the  Forum  (on  the  left  hand  of  the 
plan  and  section)  by  one  triple  doorway  in  the  centre  and  two  single 
ones  on  either  side,  covered  by  shallow  j^orticoes  of  columns  of  the 
same  height  as  those  used  internally.  These  supported  statues,  or 
rather,  to  judge  from  the  coins  representing  the  building,  rilievos, 
which  may  have  set  off,  but  could  hardly  have  given  much  dignity  to, 
a  building  designed  as  this  was.  At  the  end  opposite  the  apse  a 
similar  arrangement  seems  to  have  prevailed. 

This  mode  of  using  columns  only  half  the  height  of  the  edifice 
must  have  been  very  destructive  of  their  effect  and  of  the  general 
grandeur  of  the  structure,  but  it  became  about  this  time  rather  the 
rule  than  the  exception,  and  was  afterwards  adopted  for  temples  and 
every  other  class  of  buildings,  so  that  it  was  decidedly  an  improve- 
ment when  the  arch  took  tlie  place  of  the  horizontal  architrave  and 
cornice;  the  latter  always  suggested  a  roof,  and  became  singularly 
incongruous  when  applied  as  a  mere  ornamental  adjunct  at  half  the 
height  of  the  fa9ade.  The  interior  of  the  basilica  was,  however,  the 
important  element  to  which  the  exterior  was  entirely  sacrificed,  a 
transition  in  architectural  design  which  we  have  before  alluded  to, 
taking  place  much  faster  in  basilicas,  which  w^ere  an  entirely  new 
form  of  building,  than  in  temples,  whose  conformation  had  become 
sacred  from  the  traditions  of  past  ages. 

The  basilica  of  Maxentius,  which  was  probably  not  entirely  finished 
till  the  reign  of  Constantine,  was  rather  broader  than  that  of  Trajan, 
being  195  ft.  between  the  Avails,  but  it  was  100  ft.  less  in  length.  The 
central  aisle  was  very  nearly  of  the  same  width,  being  83  ft.  between 
the  columns,  and  120  ft.  in  height.  There  was,  hoAvever,  a  vast  dif- 
ference in  the  construction  of  the  two;  so  much  so,  that  we  are 
startled  to  see  hoAv  rapid  the  progress  had  been  during  the  interval, 
of  less  than  two  centuries,  that  had  elapsed  between  the  construction 
of  the  two  basilicas. 

In  this  building  no  pillars  were  used  with  the  exception  of  eight 


^  This  basilica  is  generally  repre- 
sented as  having  an  apse  at  either  end ; 
but  there  is  no  authority  Avhatever  for 


this,  and  general  analogy  would  lead  us 
rather  to  infer  that  it  Avas  not  the  case. 


Bk.  IV.  Cu.  IV. 


BASILICAS. 


319 


320 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


great  columns  in  front  of  the  piers,  employed  merely  as  ornaments,  or 
as  vaulting  shafts  were  in  Gothic  cathedrals,  to  support  in  appearance, 

though  not  in  construction, 
the  springing  of  the  vaults.^ 
The  side-aisles  were  roofed 
by  three  great  arches,  each 
72  ft.  in  span,  and  the  centre 
by  an  immense  intersecting 
vault  in  three  compartments. 
The  form  of  these  will  be  un- 
derstood from  the  annexed 
sections  (Woodcuts  Nos.  201 
and  202),  one  taken  longi- 
tudinally, the  other  across 
the  building.  As  will  be  seen 
from  them,  all  the  thrusts  are 
collected  to  a  point  and  a 
buttress  placed  there  to  re- 
ceive them ;  indeed  almost  all 
the  peculiarities  afterwards 
found  in  Gothl;  vaults  are 
here  employed  on  a  far  grand- 
er and  more  gigantic  scale 
than  the  Gothic  architects 
ever  attempted;  but  at  the 
same  time  it  must  be  allowed 

203.    Pillar  of  Maxeiitian  Basilica.    (From  an  old      that  the  latter,  witll  smaller 
print  quoted  by  Latarouilly.)  dimensions,   ofteu  COUtrivcd 

by  a  more  artistic  treatment  of  their  materials  to  obtain  as  grand  an  ef- 
fect and  far  more  actual  beauty  than  ever  were  attained  in  the  great  tran- 
sitional halls  of  the  Romans.  The  largeness  of  the  parts  of  the  Roman 
buildings  was  indeed  their  principal  defect,  as  in  consequence  of  this 
they  must  all  have  api)eared  smaller  than  they  really  were,  whereas 
in  all  Gothic  cathedrals  the  repetition  and  smallness  of  the  component 
parts  has  the  effect  of  magnifying  their  real  dimensions. 

The  roofs  of  these  halls  had  one  peculiarity  which  it  would  have 
been  well  if  the  media3val  architects  had  copied,  inasmuch  as  they 
were  all,  or  at  least  might  have  been,  honestly  used  as  roofs  without 
any  necessity  for  their  being  covered  with  others  of  wood,  as  all 
Gothic  vaults  unfortunately  were.    It  is  true  this  is  perhaps  one  of 


1  One  of  the  pillars  of  this  basiUca  re- 
mained in  situ  till  the  year  1614,  when 
it  was  removed  by  Carlo  Maderno,  by 
order  of  Paul  V.,  and  re-erected  in  the 
piazza  of  St.  M.  Maggiore,  where  it  now 


stands  as  a  monumental  column,  support- 
ing a  statue  of  the  Virgin.  The  column, 
with  its  base  and  capital,  is  as  nearly 
as  maybe  60  ft.  in  height;  the  whole 
monument,  as  it  now  stands,  140  ft. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  IV. 


BASILICAS. 


321 


the  causes  of  their  destruction,  for,  being  only  overlaid  with  cement, 
the  rain  wore  away  the  surface,  as  must  inevitably  be  the  case  witli 
any  composition  of  the  sort  exposed  liorizontally  to  the  weather,  and, 
that  being  gone,  the  moisture  soon  penetrated  through  the  crevices  of 
the  masonry,  destroying  the  stability  of  the  vault.  Still,  some  of 
these  in  Rome  have  resisted  for  fifteen  centuries,  after  the  removal  of 
any  covering  they  ever  might  have  had,  all  the  accidents  of  climate 
and  decay,  while  there  is  not  a  Gothic  vault  of  half  their  dimensions 
that  would  stand  for  a  century  after  the  removal  of  its  wooden 
protection.  The  construction  of  a  vault  ca2>able  of  resisting  the 
destructive  effects  of  exposure  to  the  atmosphere  still  remains  a  prob- 
lem for  modern  architects  to  solve.  Until  this  is  accomplished  we 
must  regard  roofs  entirely  of  honest  wood  as  preferable  to  the  decep- 
tive stone  ceilings  which  were  such  favorites  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  provincial  basilicas  of  the  Roman  Empire  have  nearly  all 
perished,  probably  from  their  having  been  con- 
verted, first  into  churches,  for  wdiich  they  were  so 
admirably  adapted,  and  then  rebuilt  to  suit  the 
exigencies  and  taste  of  subsequent  ages.  One  ex- 
ample, how^ever,  still  exists  in  Treves  of  sufiicient 
completeness  to  give  a  good  idea  of  what  such 
structures  were.  As  will  be  seen  by  the  annexed 
plan,  it  consists  of  a  great  hall,  85  feet  in  width 
internally,  and  rather  more  than  twice  that  dimen- 
sion in  length.  The  walls  are  about  100  feet  in 
height  and  pierced  with  two  rows  of  windows  > 
but  whether  they  were  originally  separated  by 
a  gallery  or  not  is  now  by  no  means  clear.  At 
one  end  was  the  apse,  rather  more  than  a  semi- 
circle of  60  ft.  in  diameter.  The  floor  of  the  apse 
was  raised  considerably  above  that  of  the  body 
of  the  building,  and  was  no  doubt  adorned  by  a 
hemicycle  of  seats  raised  on  steps,  with  a  throne 
in  the  centre  for  the  judge.  The  building  has  been  used  for  so  many 
purposes  since  the  time  of  the  Romans,  and  has  been  so  much  altered, 
that  it  is  not  easy  now  to  speak  with  certainty  of  any  of  its  minor 
arrangements.  Its  internal  and  external  appearance,  as  it  stood  before 
the  recent  restoration,  are  well  expressed  in  the  annexed  woodcuts  ;  and 
though  ruined,  it  was  the  most  complete  example  of  a  Roman  basilica  to 
be  found  anywhere  out  of  the  capital.  A  building  of  this  description 
has  been  found  at  Pompeii,  which  may  be  considered  a  fair  example 
of  a  provincial  basilica  of  the  second  class.  Its  plan  is  perfectly 
preserved,  as  shown  in  Woodcut  No.  207.  The  most  striking 
difference  existing  between  it  and  those  previously  described  is  the 
square  termination  instead  of  the  circular  apse.    It  must,  however,  be 

VOL.  I.  — 21 


.   Plan  of  the  Basilica 

at  Treves. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Taut  1. 


Dbserved  that  Pompeii  was  situated  nearer  to  Magna  Grajcia  than  to 
Rome,  and  was  indeed  far  more  a  Greek  than  a  Roman  city.  Very  slight 
traces  of  any  Etruscan  designs  have  been  discovered  there,  and  scarcely 


205.   External  View  of  the  Basilica  at  Tr^ives. 


any  buildings  of  the  circular  form  so  much  in  vogue  in  the  capital. 
Though  the  ground  plan  of  this  basilica  remains  perfect,  the  upper 

parts  are  entirely  destroyed, 
and  we  do  not  even  know  for 
certain  whether  the  central 
portion  was  roofed  or  not ;  my 
own  impression  is,  however, 
that  it  certainly  was  so,  and 
lighted  by  a  clerestory  like  the 
cellae  of  Greek  temples ;  as, 
however,  it  had  no  peristyle, 
it  may  possibly  have  had  win- 
dows in  the  upper  gallery,  and 
the  clerestory  windows  were 
probably  not  countersunk  like 
those  in  the  Greek  temples. 

There    is   a    small  square 
building  at  Otricoli,  which  is 
generally   supposed   to  be  a 
basilica,  but  its  object  as  well 
as  its  age  is  so  uncertain  that 
nothing   need   be   said  of  it 
here.    In  the  works  of  Vitruvius,  too,  there  is  a  description  of  one 
built  by  him  at  Fano,  the  restoration  of  which  has  afforded  employ- 
ment for  the  ingenuity  of  the  admirers  of  that  w^orst  of  architects. 


206.    Internal  View  of  the  Basilica  at  Treves. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  IV. 


BASILICAS. 


323 


Even  taking  it  as  restored  by  those  most  desirous  of  making  tlie  best 
of  it,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  anything  so  bad  could  have 
been  erected  in  such  an  age. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  trace  the  origin  of  these  basilicas,  owing 
principally  to  the  loss  of  all  the  earlier  examples.  Their  name  is  Greek, 
and  they  may  probably  be  considered  as  derived  from 
the  Grecian  Lesche,  or  perhaps  as  amplifications  of 
the  cellse  of  Greek  temples,  appropriated  to  the  pur- 
poses of  justice  rather  than  of  religion ;  but  till  we 
know  more  of  their  earlier  form  and  origin,  it  is  use- 
less speculating  on  this  point.  The  greatest  interest 
to  us  arises  rather  from  the  use  to  which  their  plan  was 
afterwards  applied,  than  from  the  source  from  which 
they  themselves  sprang.  All  the  larger  Christian 
churches  in  the  early  times  were  copies,  more  or  less 
exact,  of  the  basihcas  of  which  that  of  Trajan  is  an 
example.  The  abundance  of  pillars  suitable  to  such 
an  erection,  that  were  found  everywhere  in  Rome, 
rendered  their  construction  easy  and  cheap ;  and 
the  wooden  roof  with  which  they  were  covered  was 
also  as  simple  and  as  inexpensive  a  covering  as 
could  well  be  desisfned.    The  very  uses  of  the  Chris- 

^  ^  ^     ^  100  It.  to  1  111. 

tian  basilicas  at  first  were  by  no  means  dissimilar  to 
those  of  their  heathen  originals,  as  they  were  in  reality  the  assembly 
halls  of  the  early  Christian  republic,  before  they  became  liturgical 
churches  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy. 

The  more  expensive  construction  of  the  bold  vaults  of  the  Maxentian 
basilica  went  far  beyond  the  means  of  the  early  Church,  established  in 
a  declining  and  abandoned  capital,  and  this  form  therefore  remained 
dormant  for  seven  or  eight  centuries  before  it  was  revived  by  the 
mediaeval  architects  on  an  infinitely  smaller  scale,  but  adorned  with  a 
degree  of  appropriateness  and  taste  to  which  the  Romans  were  stran- 
gers. It  was  then  used  with  a  completeness  and  unity  which  entitle 
it  to  be  considered  as  an  entirely  new  style  of  architecture. 


Theatres. 

The  theatre  was  by  no  means  so  essential  a  part  of  the  economy  of 
a  Roman  city  as  it  was  of  a  Grecian  one.  With  the  latter  it  was  quite 
as  indispensable  as  the  temple ;  and  in  the  semi-Greek  city  of  Hercu- 
laneum  there  was  one,  and  in  Pompeii  two,  on  a  scale  quite  equal  to 
those  of  Greece  when  compared  with  the  importance  of  the  town  itself. 
In  the  capital  there  appears  only  to  have  been  one,  that  of  Marcellus, 
built  during  the  reign  of  Augustus.  It  is  very  questionable  whether 
what  we  now  see  —  especially  the  outer  arcades  —  belong  to  that  age,  or 


324 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTUllE 


Part  1. 


whether  the  theatre  may  not  have  been  rebuilt,  and  these  arcades 
added  at  some  later  period.  It  is  so  completely  built  over  by  modern 
houses,  and  so  ruined,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  arrive  at  any 
satisfactory  opinion  regarding  it.  Its  dimensions  were  worthy  of  the 
capital,  the  audience  part  being  a  semicircle  of  410  ft.  in  diameter, 
and  the  scena  being  of  great  extent  in  proportion  to  the  other  part, 
which  is  a  characteristic  of  all  Roman  theatres,  as  compared  with 
Grecian  edifices  of  this  class. 

One  of  the  most  striking  Roman  provincial  theatres  is  that  of 
Orange  in  the  south  of  France.  Perhaps  it  owes  its  existence,  or  at 
all  events  its  splendor,  to  the  substratum  of  Grecian  colonists  that 
preceded  the  Romans  in  that  country.  Its  auditorium  is  340  ft.  in 
diameter,  but  much  ruined,  in  consequence  of  the  Princes  of  Orange 
having  used  this  part  as  a  bastion  in  some  fortification  they  were 
constructing. 

The  stage  is  very  tolerably  preserved.  It  shows  well  the  increased 
extent  and  complication  of  arrangements  required  for  the  theatrical 
representations  of  the  age  in  which  it  was  constructed,  being  a  con- 
siderable advance  towards  the  more  modern  idea  of  a  play,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  stately  semi-religious  spectacle  in  which  the  Greeks 
delighted.  The  noblest  part  of  the  building  is  the  great  wall  at  the 
back,  an  immense  mass  of  masonry  340  ft.  in  extent  and  116  ft.  in 
height,  without  a  single  opening  above  the  basement,  and  no  ornament 
except  a  range  of  blank  arches,  about  midway  between  the  basement 
and  the  top,  and  a  few  projecting  corbels  to  receive  the  footings  of 
the  masts  that  supported  the  velarium.  Nowhere  does  the  architec- 
ture of  the  Romans  shine  so  much  as  when  their  2:i2:antic  buildino^s 
are  left  to  tell  their  own  tale  by  the  imposing  grandeur  of  their 
masses.  Whenever  ornament  is  attempted,  their  bad  taste  comes 
out.  The  size  of  their  edifices,  and  the  solidity  of  their  construction, 
were  only  surpassed  by  the  Egyptians,  and  not  always  by  them  ;  and 
when,  as  here,  the  mass  of  material  heaped  up  stands  unadorned  in 
all  its  native  grandeur,  criticism  is  disarmed,  and  the  spectator  stands 
awe-struck  at  its  majesty,  and  turns  aw^ay  convinced  that  truly  "there 
were  giants  in  those  days."  This  is  not,  it  is  true,  the  most  intellec- 
tual way  of  obtaining  architectural  effect,  but  it  has  the  advantage  of 
being  the  easiest,  the  most  certain  to  secure  the  desired  result,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  most  permanent. 


AmphitheJatres. 

The  deficiency  of  theatres  erected  by  the  Romans  is  far  more 
than  compensated  by  the  number  and  splendor  of  their  amphi- 
theatres, which,  with  their  baths,  may  be  considered  as  the  true  types 
of  Roman  art,  although  it  is  almost  certain  that  they  derived  this  class 


209.   View  of  the  Theatre  at  Orange. 


326 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I, 


of  public  buildings  from  the  Etruscans.  At  Sutri  there  is  a  very  noble 
one  cut  out  of  the  tufa  rock,  which  was  no  doubt  used  by  that  people 
for  festal  representations  long  before  Rome  attempted  anything  of  the 
kind.  It  is  uncertain  whether  gladiatorial  fights  or  combats  of  wild 
beasts  formed  any  part  of  the  amusements  of  the  arena  in  those  days, 
though  boxing,  wrestling,  and  contests  of  that  description  certainly 
did ;  but  whether  the  Etruscans  actually  proceeded  to  the  shedding  of 
blood  and  to  slaughter  is  more  tlian  doubtful. 

Even  in  the  remotest  part  of  Britain,  in  Germany  and  Gaul, 
wherever  we  find  a  Roman  settlement,  Ave  find  the  traces  of  their 
amphitheatres.  Their  soldiery,  it  seems,  could  not  exist  without  the 
enjoyment  of  seeing  men  engaged  in  doubtful  and  mortal  combats  — 
either  killing  one  another,  or  torn  to  pieces  by  wild  beasts.  It  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  a  people  who  delighted  so  much  in  the  bloody 
scenes  of  the  arena  should  feel  but  very  little  pleasure  in  the  mimic 
sorrows  and  tame  humor  of  the  stage.  The  brutal  exhibition  of  the 
amphitheatre  fitted  them,  it  is  true,  to  be  a  nation  of  conquerors,  and 
gave  them  the  empire  of  the  world,  but  brought  with  it  feelings 
singularly  inimical  to  all  the  softer  arts,  and  was  perhaps  the  great 
cause  of  their  ultimate  debasement. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  largest  and  most  splendid  of  these 
buildings  is  that  which  adorns  the  capital ;  and  of  all  the  ruins  which 
Rome  contains,  none  have  excited  such  universal  admiration  as  the 
Flavian  Amphitheatre.  Poets,  painters,  rhapsodists,  have  exhausted 
all  the  resources  of  their  art  in  the  attemj)t  to  convey  to  others  the 
overpowering  impression  this  building  produces  on  their  own  minds. 
With  the  single  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  Hall  at  Karnac,  no  ruin 
has  met  with  such  universal  admiration  as  this.  Its  association  with 
the  ancient  mistress  of  the  world,  its  destruction,  and  the  half- 
prophetic  destiny  ascribed  to  it,  all  contribute  to  this.  In  spite  of 
our  better  judgment  we  are  forced  to  confess  that 

"  The  gladiators'  bloody  circus  stands 
A  noble  wreck  in  ruinous  perfection," 

and  worthy  of  all  or  nearly  all  the  admiration  of  which  it  has  been  the 
object.  Its  interior  is  almost  wholly  devoid  of  ornament,  or  anything 
that  can  be  called  architecture  —  a  vast  inverted  pyramid.  The  ex- 
terior does  not  possess  one  detail  which  is  not  open  to  criticism,  and 
indeed  to  positive  blame.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  its  magnitude,  its 
form,  and  its  associations,  all  combine  to  produce  an  effect  against 
which  the  critic  struggles  in  vain.  Still  all  must  admit  that  the  pillars 
and  their  entablature  are  useless  and  are  added  incongruously,  and 
that  the  upper  story,  not  being  arched  like  the  lower,  but  solid  and 
with  ugly  pilasters,  is  a  painful  blemish.  This  last  defect  is  so 
striking,  that  in  spite  of  the  somewhat  dubious  evidence  of  medals,  I 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  IV. 


AMPHITHEATRES. 


327 


should  feel  inclined  to  suspect  that  it  was  a  subsequent  addition,  and 
meant  wholly  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  and  working  the  great 
velarium  or  awning  that  covered  the  arena  during  tlie  representation, 
which  may  not  have  been  attempted  when  the  amphitheatre  was  first 
erected. 


210.   Elevation  and  Section  of  part  of  the  Flavian  Amphitheatre  at  Rome.    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  lu. 


211.   Quarter-plan  of  the  Seats,  and  quarter-plan  of  the  Basement  of  the  Flavian  Amphi- 
theatre.  No  scale. 


Be  this  as  it  may,  it  certainly  now  very  much  mars  the  effect  of 
the  building.  The  lower  stories  are  of  bad  design,  but  this  is  worse. 
But  notwithstanding  these  defects,  there  is  no  building  of  Rome  where 
the  principle  of  reduplication  of  parts,  of  Avhich  the  Gothic  architects 


328 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


afterwards  made  so  mucli  use,  is  carried  to  so  great  an  extent  as  in 
this.  The  Colosseum  is  i)rincipally  indebted  to  this  feature  for  the 
effect  which  it  produces.  Had  it,  for  instance,  been  designed  with  only 
one  story  of  the  height  of  the  four  now  existing,  and  every  arch  had 
consequently  been  as  wide  as  tlie  present  four,  the  building  would 
have  scarcely  ap])eared  half  the  size  it  is  now  seen  to  be.  For  all  this, 
however,  when  close  under  it,  and  comparing  it  with  moving  figures 
and  other  objects,  we  could  scarcely  eventually  fail  to  realize  its  won- 
derful dimensions.  In  that  case,  a  true  sense  of  the  vast  size  of  the 
building  would  have  had  to  be  acquired,  as  is  the  case  with  the  fayade 
of  St.  Peter's.  Now  it  forces  itself  on  the  mind  at  the.  first  glance.  It 
is  the  repetition  of  arch  beyond  arch  and  story  over  story  that  leads 
the  mind  on,  and  gives  to  tliis  amphitheatre  its  imposing  grandeur, 
which  all  acknowledge,  though  few  give  themselves  the  trouble  to 
inquire  how  this  effect  is  produced. 

Fortunately,  too,  though  the  face  of  the  building  is  much  cut  up 
by  the  order,  the  entablatures  are  unbroken  throughout,  and  cross  the 
building  in  long  vanishing  lines  of  the  most  graceful  curvatures. 
The  oval,  also,  is  certainly  more  favorable  for  effect  than  a  circular 
form  would  be.  A  building  of  this  shape  may  perhaps  look  smaller 
than  it  really  is  to  a  ])erson  standing  exactly  opposite  either  end  ; 
but  in  all  other  j)Ositii)ns  the  flatter  side  gives  a  variety  and  an 
aj)j)earance  of  size,  which  the  monotonous  equality  of  a  circle  would 
never  produce. 

The  length  of  the  building  measured  over  all  along  its  greatest 
diameter,  is  G20  ft.,  its  breadth  518,  or  nearly  in  the  ratio  of  6  to  5, 
which  may  be  taken  as  the  general  proportion  of  these  buildings,  the 
variations  from  it  being  slight  and  apparently  either  mistakes  in 
setting  out  the  work  in  ancient  times,  or  in  measuring  it  in  modern 
days,  rather  than  an  intentional  deviation.  The  height  of  the  three 
lower  stories,  or  of  what  I  believe  to  have  been  the  original  building, 
is  120  ft.;  the  total  height  as  it  now  stands  is  157  ft.  The  arena 
itself  measures  287  ft.  in  length  by  180  in  breadth.  The  whole  area 
of  the  building  has  been  calculated  to  contain  250,000  square  feet, 
of  which  the  arena  contains  40,000,  then  deducting  10,000  for  the 
external  wall,  200,000  square  feet  will  remain  available  for  the 
audience.  If  we  divide  this  by  5,*  which  is  the  number  of  square 
feet  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  allow  for  each  spectator  in  modern 
places  of  amusement,  room  will  be  afforded  for  40,000  spectators  :  at 
4  feet,  which  is  a  possible  quantity,  with  continuous  seats  and  the 
scant  drapery  of  the  Romans,  the  amphitheatre  might  contain  50,000 
spectators  at  one  time. 


1  At  the  Crystal  Palace  it  has  always  been  found  necessary  to  allow  six  square 
feet  to  each  person. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  IV. 


AMPHITHEATRES . 


329 


The  area  of  the  supports  has  also  been  calculated  at  about  40,000 
square  feet,  or  about  one-sixth  of  the  whole  area  ;  which  for  an  unroofed 
edifice  of  this  sort  is  more  than  sufficient,  though  the  excess  accounts 
for  the  stability  of  the  building. 

Next  in  extent  to  this  great  metropolitan  amphitheatre  Avas  that 
of  Capua ;  its  dimensions  were  558  ft.  by  460  :  its  height  externally 
95  ft.  It  had  three  stories,  designed  similarly  to  those  of  the  Colos- 
seum, but  all  of  the  Doric  order,  and  used  with  more  purity  than  in 
the  Roman  example. 

Next  in  age,  though  not  in  size,  is  that  at  Nimes,  430  ft.  by  378, 
and  72  in  height,  in  two  stories.  Both  these  stories  are  more  profusely 
and  more  elegantly  ornamented  with  23illars  than  those  of  either  of  the 
amphitheatres  mentioned  above.  The  entablature  is  however  broken 
over  each  column,  and  pediments  are  introduced  on  each  front.  All 
these  arrangements,  though  showing  more  care  in  design  and  sufficient 
elegance  in  detail,  make  this  building  very  inferior  in  grandeur  to  the 
two  earlier  edifices,  whose  simplicity  of  outline  makes  up,  to  a  great 
extent,  for  their  faults  of  detail. 

A  more  beautiful  example  than  this  is  that  at  Verona.  Its  dimen- 
sions are  502  ft.  by  401,  and  98  ft.  high,  in  three  stories  beautifully 
proportioned.  Here  the 
order  almost  entirely 
disappears  to  make  way 
for  rustication,  showing 
that  it  must  be  consid- 
erably more  modern 
than  either  of  the  three 
examples  above  quoted, 
though  hardly  so  late 
as  the  time  of  Maxi- 
mianus,  to  whom  it 
is  frequently  ascribed.^ 

The  arena  of   this   am-      212.   Elevation  of  the  Amphitheatre  at  Verona,  Scale 
1.,,       .      .  -,  50  ft.  to  1  in. 

phitheatre  is  very  nearly 

perfect,  owing  to  the  care  taken  of  it  during  the  Middle  Ages,  when 
it  was  often  used  for  tournaments  and  other  spectacles  ;  but  of  its 
outer  architectural  enclosure  only  four  bays  remain,  sufficient  to  enable 
an  architect  to  restore  the  whole,  but  not  to  allow  of  its  effect  being 
compared  with  that  of  more  entire  examples. 

The  amphitheatre  at  Pola,  which  is  of  about  the  same  age  as  that 
of  Verona,  and  certainly  belonging  to  the  last  days  of  the  Western 
Empire,  presents  in  its  ruin  a  curious  contrast  to  the  other.  That 
at  Verona  has  a  perfect  arena  and  only  a  fragment  of  its  exterior 


'  Maffei,  "Verona  Illustrata,"  vol.  vii.  p.  84  et  seq. 


330 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Pakt  I 


decoration,  while  the  exterior  of  Pola  is  perfect,  but  not  a  traoe 
remains  of  its  arena,  or  of  the  seats  that  surrounded  it.  This  is  prob- 
ably owing  to  their  having  been  of  wood,  and  consequently  having 
either  decayed  or  been  burnt.  Like  that  at  Verona,  it  presents  all  the 
features  of  the  last  stage  of  transition  ;  the  order  is  still  seen,  or 
rather  is  everywhere  suggested,  but  so  concealed  and  kept  subordinate 
that  it  does  not  at  all  interfere  with  the  general  effect.  But  for 
these  faint  traces  we  should  possess  in  this  amphitheatre  one  specimen 
entirely  emancipated  from  incongruous  Grecian  forms,  but,  as  before 
remarked,  Rome  perished  when  just  on  the  threshold  of  the  new 
style. 

The  dimensions  of  the  ampliitheatre  at  Pola  are  very  nearly  the 
same  as  of  tliat  at  Nimes,  being  436  feet  by  346.  It  has,  however, 
three  stories,  and  thus  its  lieiglit  is  considerably  greater,  being  97  ft. 
Owing  to  the  inequality  of  tlie  ground  on  which  it  is  built,  the 
lower  story  shows  the  peculiarity  of  a  sub-basement,  which  is  very 
])leasingly  managed,  and  appears  to  emancipate  it  more  from  conven- 
tional forms  than  is  tlie  case  with  its  contemporary  at  Verona.  The 
third  story,  or  attic,  is  also  more  pleasing  than  elsewhere,  as  it  is 
avowedly  designed  for  the  support  of  the  masts  of  tlie  velarium.  The 
pilasters  and  all  Greek  forms  are  omitted,  and  there  is  only  a  groove 
over  every  column  of  the  middle  story  to  receive  tlie  masts.  There  is 
also  a  curious  sort  of  02)en  battlement  on  the  top,  evidently  designed  to 
facilitate  the  working  of  the  awning,  though  in  what  manner  is  not 
quite  clear.  There  is  still  one  other  peculiarity  about  the  building, 
inasmuch  as  the  curvature  of  its  lines  is  broken  by  four  projections, 
intended  apparently  to  contain  staircases.  They  appear,  however,  to 
have  been  subsequent  additions,  the  stones  of  which  they  are  built 
being  of  a  different  color  from  those  of  the  body  of  the  building. 
In  a  building  so  light  and  open  as  this  one  is  in  its  present  state 
there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  projections  give  expression  and 
character  to  the  outline,  though  such  additions  would  go  far  to  spoil 
any  of  the  great  examples  above  quoted. 

At  Otricoli  there  is  a  small  amphitheatre,  312  feet  by  230,  in  two 
stories,  from  which  the  order  has  entirely  disappeared ;  it  is  therefore 
possibly  the  most  modern  of  its  class,  but  the  great  flat  pilasters  that 
replace  the  pillars  are  ungraceful  and  somewhat  clumsy.  Perhaps 
its  peculiarities  ought  rather  to  be  looked  on  as  provincialisms  than 
as  genuine  specimens  of  an  advanced  style.  Still  there  is  a  pleasim: 
simplicity  about  it  that  on  a  larger  scale  would  enable  it  to  stand 
comparison  with  some  of  its  greater  rivals. 

Besides  these,  which  are  the  typical  examples  of  the  style,  there 
are  the  "  Castrense"  at  Rome,  nearly  circular,  and  possessing  all  the 
faults  and  none  of  the  beauties  of  the  Colosseum ;  one  at  Aries,  very 
much  ruined ;  and  a  great  number  of  provincial  ones,  not  only  in 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  IV. 


BATHS. 


331 


Italy  and  Gaul,  but  in  Germany  and  Britain.  Almost  all  these  were 
principally,  if  not  wholly  excavated  from  the  earth,  the  part  above 
ground  being  the  mound  formed  by  the  excavation.  If  they  ever 
possessed  any  external  decoration  to  justify  their  being  treated  as 
architectural  objects,  it  has  disappeared,  so  that  in  the  state  at  least 
in  which  we  now  find  them  they  do  not  belong  to  the  ornamental 
class  of  works  of  which  we  are  at  present  treating. 

Baths. 

Next  in  splendor  to  the  amphitheatres  of  the  Romans  were  their 
great  thermal  establishments:  in  size  they  were  perhaps  even  more 
remarkable,  and  their  erection  must  certainly  have  been  more  costly. 
The  amphitheatre,  however,  has  the  great  advantage  in  an  archi- 
tectural point  of  view  of  being  one  object,  one  hall  in  short,  whereas 
the  baths  were  composed  of  a  great  number  of  smaller  parts,  not 
perhaps  very  successfully  grouped  together.  They  were  wholly  built 
of  brick  covered  with  stucco  (except  perhaps  the  pillars),  and  have, 
therefore,  now  so  completely  lost  their  architectural  features  that  it 
is  with  difficulty  that  even  the  most  practised  architect  can  restore 
them  to  anything  like  their  original  appearance. 

In  speaking  of  the  great  Thermae  of  Imperial  Rome,  they  must 
not  be  confounded  with  such  establishments  as  that  of  Pompeii  for 
instance.  The  latter  was  very  similar  to  the  baths  now  found  in 
Cairo  or  Constantinople,  and  indeed  in  most  Eastern  cities.  These 
are  mere  establishments  for  the  convenience  of  bathers,  consisting 
generally  of  one  or  two  small  circular  or  octagonal  halls,  covered  by 
domes,  and  one  or  two  others  of  an  oblong  shape,  covered  with  vaults 
or  wooden  roofs,  used  as  recej^tion-rooms,  or  places  of  repose  after 
the  bath.  These  have  never  any  external  magnificence  beyond  an 
entrance-porch;  and  although  those  at  Pompeii  are  decorated  in- 
ternally with  taste,  and  are  well  worthy  of  study,  their  smallness 
of  size  and  inferiority  of  design  do  not  admit  of  their  being  placed 
in  the  same  category  as  those  of  the  capital,  which  are  as  charac- 
teristic of  Rome  as  her  amphitheatres,  and  are  such  as  could  only 
exist  in  a  capital  where  the  bulk  of  the  people  were  able  to  live  on 
the  spoils  of  the  conquered  world  rather  than  by  the  honest  gains 
of  their  own  industry. 

Agrippa  is  said  to  have  built  baths  immediately  behind  the 
Pantheon,  and  Palladio  and  others  have  attempted  restorations  of 
^hem,  assuming  that  building  to  have  been  the  entrance-hall.  Noth- 
ing, however,  can  be  more  unlikely  than  that  if  he  had  first  built 
the  rotunda  as  a  hall  of  his  baths,  that  he  should  afterwards  have 
added  the  portico,  and  converted  it  from  its  secular  use  into  a  temple 
dedicated  to  all  the  gods. 


332 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Part  I, 


As  before  remarked,  the  two  parts  are  certainly  not  of  the  same 
age.  If  Agrippa  built  the  rotunda  as  a  part  of  his  baths,  the  portico 
was  added  a  century  and  a  half  or  two  centuries  afterwards,  and  it 
was  then  converted  into  a  temple.  If  Agrippa  built  the  portico,  he 
added  it  to  a  building  belonging  to  Republican  times,  which  may  always 
have  been  dedicated  to  sacred  purposes.  As  the  evidence  at  present 
stands,  I  am  rather  inclined  to  believe  the  first  hypothesis  most 
correctly  represents  the  facts  of  the  case. 

Nero's  baths,  too,  are  a  mere  heap  of  shapeless  ruins,  and  those 
of  Vespasian,  Domitian,  and  Trajan  in  like  manner  are  too  much 
ruined  for  their  form,  or  even  their  dimensions,  to  be  ascertained 
with  anything  like  correctness.  Those  of  Titus  are  more  perfect, 
but  the  very  discrepancies  that  exist  between  the  different  systems 
upon  which  their  restoration  has  been  attempted  show  that  enough 
does  not  remain  to  enable  the  task  to  be  accomplished  in  a  satis- 
factory manner.  They  owe  their  interest  more  to  the  beautiful 
fresco  paintings  that  adorn  their  vaults  than  to  their  architectural 
character.  These  paintings  are  invaluable,  as  l)eing  the  most  ex- 
tensive and  perfect  relics  of  the  painted  decoration  of  the  most 
flourishing  period  of  the  Empire,  and  give  a  higher  idea  of  Roman 
art  than  other  indications  would  lead  us  to  expect. 

The  baths  of  Constantine  are  also  nearly  wholly  destroyed,  so 
that  out  of  the  great  Thermae,  two  only,  those  of  Diocletian  and  of 
Caracalla,  now  remain  sufficiently  perfect  to  enable  a  restoration  to 
be  made  of  them  with  anything  like  certainty. 

The  great  hall  belonging  to  the  baths  of  Diocletian  is  now  the 
Church  of  Sta.  Maria  degli  Angeli,  and  has  been  considerably  altered 
to  suit  the  changed  circumstances  of  its  use ;  while  the  modern 
buildings  attached  to  the  church  have  so  overlaid  the  older  remains 
that  it  is  not  easy  to  follow  out  the  complete  plan.  This  is  of  less 
consequence,  as  both  in  dimensions  and  plan  they  are  extremely 
similar  to  those  of  Caracalla,  which  seem  to  have  been  among  the 
most  magnificent  as  they  certainly  are  the  best  preserved  of  these 
establishments.! 

The  general  plan  of  the  whole  enclosure  of  the  baths  of  Caracalla 
was  a  square  of  about  1150  ft.  each  way,  with  a  bold  but  graceful 
curvilinear  projection  on  two  sides,  containing  porticoes,  gymnasia, 
lecture-rooms,  and  other  halls  for  exercise  of  mind  or  body.  In  the 
rear  were  the  reservoirs  to  contain  the  requisite  supply  of  water 
and  below  them  the  hypocaust  or  furnace,  by  which  it  was  warmed 
with  a  degree  of  scientific  skill  we  hardly  give  the  Romans  of  that 
age  credit  for.    Opposite  to  this  and  facing  the  street  was  one  great 

1  These  baths  have  been  carefully  j  is,  oh  the  whole,  certainly  the  best  ac- 
measured  by  M.  Blouet,  who  has  also  j  count  we  have  of  any  of  these  establish- 
published  a  restoration  of  them.    This  I  ments. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  IV. 


BATHS. 


333 


portico  extending  the  whole  length  of  the  building,  into  which 
opened  a  range  of  apartments,  meant  apparently  to  be  used  as  private 
baths,  which  extend  also  some  way  up  each  side.  In  front  of  the 
hypocaust,  facing  the  north-east,  was  a  semicircus  or  theatridium^ 
530  ft.  long,  where  youths  performed  their  exercises  or  contended 
for  prizes. 


213.   Baths  of  Caracalla,  as  restored  by  A.  Blouet. 


These  parts  were,  however,  merely  the  accessories  of  the  estab- 
lishment surrounding  the  garden,  in  which  the  principal  building  was 
placed.  This  was  a  rectangle  730  ft.  by  380,  with  a  projection  cov- 
ered by  a  dome  on  the  south-western  side,  which  was  167  ft.  in  diam- 
eter externally,  and  115  ft.  internally.  There  were  two  small  courts 
(a  a)  included  in  the  block,  but  nearly  the  whole  of  the  rest  appears 
to  have  been  roofed  over. 

The  modern  building  which  approaches  nearest  in  extent  to  this 
is  probably  our  Parliament  Plouses.  These  are  about  880  ft.  in 
length,  with  an  average  breadth  of  about  300,  and,  with  Westminster 
Hall,  cover  as  nearly  as  may  be  the  same  area  as  the  central  block  of 
these  baths.  But  there  the  comparison  stops ;  there  is  no  building  of 
modern  times  on  anything  like  the  same  scale,  arranged  wholly  for 
architectural  effect  as  this  one  is,  irrespective  of  any  utilitarian  purpose. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  whole  of  the  walls  being  covered  with  stucco, 


334 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  I. 


and  almost  all  the  architecture  being  expressed  in  that  material,  must 
have  detracted  considerably  from  the  monumental  grandeur  of  the 
effect.  Judging,  however,  from  what  remains  of  the  stucco  ornament  of 
the  roof  of  the  Maxentian  basilica  (Woodcut  No.  202),  it  is  wonderful 
to  observe  what  effects  may  be  obtained  with  even  this  material  in 
the  hands  of  a  people  who  understand  its  employment.  While  stone 
and  marble  have  perished,  the  stucco  of  these  vaults  still  remains, 
and  is  as  impressive  as  any  other  relic  of  ancient  Rome. 

In  the  centre  was  a  great  hall  (b),  almost  identical  in  dimensions 
with  the  central  aisle  of  the  basilica  of  Maxentius  already  described, 
being  82  ft.  wide  by  170  in  length,  and  roofed  in  the  same  manner  by 
an  intersecting  vault  in  three  compartments,  springing  from  eight 
great  pillars.  This  opened  into  a  smaller  apartment  at  each  end,  of 
rectangular  form,  and  tlien  again  into  two  other  semicircular  halls, 
forming  a  splendid  suite  460  ft.  in  length.  This  central  room  is  gen- 
erally considered  as  the  tejndarium.,  or  warmed  apartment,  having 
four  warm  baths  opening  out  of  it.  On  the  north-east  side  was  the 
natatio,  or  plunge-bath  (c),  probably  tepid,  a  room  of  nearly  the  same 
dimensions  and  design  as  the  central  one.  On  the  side  opposite  to  this 
was  the  circular  apartment  (d),  covered  by  the  dome  above  mentioned, 
which,  from  its  situation  and  the  openness  of  its  arrangements,  must 
have  contained  a  cold  bath  or  baths.  There  are  four  other  rooms  on 
this  side,  whicli  seem  also  to  have  been  cold  baths.  None  of  these  points 
have,  however,  yet  been  satisfactorily  settled,  nor  the  uses  of  the  smaller 
subordinate  rooms ;  every  restorer  giving  them  names  according  to  his 
own  ideas.  For  our  pur])ose  it  suffices  to  know  tliat  no  groups  of  state 
a])artments  in  such  dimensions,  and  wholly  devoted  to  purposes  of 
display  and  recreation,  were  ever  before  or  since  grouped  together  under 
one  roof.  The  taste  of  many  of  the  decorations  would  no  doubt  be 
faulty,  and  the  architecture  shows  those  incongruities  inseparable  from 
its  statq  of  transition  ;  but  such  a  collection  of  stately  halls  must  have 
made  up  a  whole  of  greater  splendor  than  we  can  easily  realize  from 
tlieir  bare  and  weather-beaten  ruins,  or  from  anything  else  to  which 
we  can  compare  them.  Even  allowing  for  their  being  almost  wholly 
built  of  brick,  and  for  their  being  disfigured  by  the  bad  taste  inseparable 
from  everything  Roman,  there  is  nothing  in  the  world  which  for  size 
and  grandeur  can  compare  with  these  imperial  places  of  recreation.^ 


1  St.  George's  Hall  at  Liverpool  is  the 
most  exact  copy  in  modern  times  of  a 
part  of  these  baths.  The  Hall  itself  is 
a  reproduction  both  in  scale  and  design 
of  the  central  hall  of  Caracalla's  baths, 
but  improved  in  detail  and  design, 
having  five  bays  instead  of  only  three. 
With  the  two  courts  at  each  end,  it 


makes  up  a  suite  of  apartments  very 
similar  to  those  found  in  the  Roman 
examples.  The  whole  building,  how- 
ever, is  less  than  one-fonrth  of  the  size 
of  the  central  mass  of  a  Roman  bath, 
and  therefore  gives  but  little  idea  of  the 
magnificence  of  the  whole. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.V.  triumphal  AllCHES.  355 


CHAPTER  V. 

TRIUMPHAL  ARCHES,  TOMBS,  AND  OTHER  BUILDINGS. 

CONTENTS. 

Arches  at  Rome  ;  in  France  — Arch  at  Treves  —  Pillars  of  Victory  —  Tombs  — 
Minerva  Medica  —  Provincial  tombs  —  Eastern  tombs  —  Domestic  arcliitectm-e 
—  Spalatro  —  Pompeii  —  Bridges  —  Aqueducts. 

TRIUMPHAL  arches  were  among  the  most  peculiar  of  the  various 
forms  of  art  which  the  Romans  borrowed  from  those  around 
tliem,  and  used  with  that  strange  mixture  of  splendor  and  bad  taste 
Avhich  characterizes  all  their  works. 

These  were  in  the  first  instance  no  doubt  borrowed  from  the  Etrus- 
cans, as  was  also 
the  ceremony  of 
tlie  triumph  Avith 
which  they  were 
ultimately  asso- 
ciated. At  first 
they  seem  rather 
to  have  been  used 
as  festal  entrances 
to  the  great  pub- 
lic roads,  the  con- 
struction of  which 
was  considered 
one  of  the  most  im- 
portant benefits  a 
ruler  could  confer 
upon  his  country. 
There  was  one 
erected  at  Rimini 
in  honor  of  an  im- 
portant restora- 
tion of  the  Flami- 

nian  Way  by  Augustus ;  another  at  Susa  in  Piedmont,  to  commemo- 
rate a  similar  act  of  the  same  Emperor.  Trajan  built  one  on  the 
pier  at  Ancona,  when  he  restored  that  harbor,  and  another  at  Bene- 
ventum,  wiien  he  repaired  the  Via  Appia,  represented  in  the  woodcut 


214.    Arcli  of  Trajan  at  rieiieventuin.   (From  a  plate  in  Gailabaud's 
"  Architecture.") 


3:^6 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


215.   Arch  of  Titus  at  Rome 
Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


here  given  (No.  214).  It  is  one  of  the  best  preserved  as  well  as  most 
graceful  of  its  class  in  Italy.  The  Arch  of  the  Sergii  at  Pola  in  Istria 
seems  also  to  have  been  erected  for  a  like  purpose.  That  of  Hadrian 
at  Athens,  and  another  built  by  him  at  Antinoe  in  Egypt,  were 
monuments  merely  commemorative  of  the  benefits  which  he  had  con- 
ferred on  those  cities  by  the  architectural  works  he  had  erected  within 
their  walls.  By  far  the  most  important  application  of  these  gateways, 
in  Rome  at  least,  was  to  commemorate  a  triumph  which  may  have 
passed  along  the  road  over  which  the  arch  was  erected,  and  perhaps 
in  some  instances  they  may  have  been  erected  beforehand,  for  the 
triumphal  procession  to  pass  through,  and  of  which  they  would  re- 
main memorials. 

The  Arch  of  Titus  at  Rome  is  well  known  for  the  beauty  of  its  de- 
tail, as  well  as  from  the  extraordinary  interest  which  it  derives  from 
having  been  erected  to  commemorate  the  con- 
(\UGSt  of  Jerusalem,  and  consequently  repre- 
senting in  its  bassi-rilievi  the  spoils  of  the 
Temple.  From  the  annexed  elevation,  drawn 
to  the  usual  scale,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
building  is  not  large,  and  it  is  not  so  well  pro- 
portioned as  that  at  Beneventum,  represented 
in  the  preceding  woodcut,  the  attic  being  over- 
poweringly  high.  The  absence  of  sculpture  on 
each  side  of  the  arch  is  also  a  defect,  for  the  real  merit  of  these  build- 
ings is  their  being  used  as  frameworks  for  the  exhibition  of  sculptural 
representations  of  the  deeds  they  were  erected  to  commemorate. 

In  the  later  days  of  the  Empire  two  side-arches  Avere  added  for 

foot  passengers,  in  addition  to  the 
carriage-way  in  the  centre.  This 
added  much  to  the  splendor  of  the 
edifice,  and  gave  a  greater  opportu- 
nity for  sculptural  decoration  tlian 
the  single  arch  afforded.  The  Arch 
of  Septimius  Severus,  represented  to 
the  same  scale  in  Woodcut  No.  216, 
is  perhaps  the  best  specimen  of  the 
class.  That  of  Constantine  is  very 
similar  and  in  most  respects  equal  to 
this  —  a  merit  which  it  owes  to  most  of  its  sculptures  being  borrowed 
from  earlier  monuments. 

More  splendid  than  either  of  these  is  the  arch  at  Orange.  It  is  not 
known  by  whom  it  was  erected,  or  even  in  what  age :  it  is,  however, 
certainly  very  late  in  the  Roman  period,  and  shows  a  strong  tendency 
to  treat  the  order  as  entirely  subordinate,  and  to  exalt  the  plain  masses 
into  that  importance  which  characterizes  the  late  transitional  period. 


Arch  of  Septimius  Severus. 
Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V  . 


TRIUMPHAL  ARCIIES. 


337 


Unfortunately  its  sculptures  are  so  much  destroyed  by  time  and  vio- 
lence that  it  is  not  easy  to  speak  with  certainty  as  to  their  age;  but 
more  might  be'  done  than  has  hitherto  been  effected  to  illustrate  this 
important  monument. 

At  Kheims  there  is  an  arch  whicli  was  probably  much  more  mag- 
nificent than  this.  When  in  a  perfect  state  it  was  110  ft.  in  width,  and 
had  three  openings,  the  central  one  17  ft.  wide  by  40  ft.  high,  and  those 
on  each  side  10  ft.  in  width,  each  se])arate(l  by  two  Corinthian  columns. 
From  the  style  of  the  scul])ture  it  certainly  was  of  the  last  age  of  the 
Koman  Empire,  but  having  been  built  into  the  walls  of  the  city,  it  has 
been  so  much  injured  that  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  its  original  form 
may  have  been. 

Besides  these  there  is  in  France  a  very  elegant  single-arched  gate- 
way at  St.  Kemi,  similar  to  and  ])robably  of  the  same  age  as  that  at 
Beneventum;  another  at  Cavallon,  and  one  at  Carpentras,  each  with 


217.    Porte  St.  Andre  at  Autuii.    (From  Laborde's  "  Monumens  ile  la  France.) 


one  arch.  There  is  also  one  with  two  similar  arches  at  Langres;  and 
one,  the  Porta  Nigra  at  Besan9on,  which  shows  so  complete  a  transi- 
tion from  the  Roman  style  that  it  is  difhcult  to  believe  that  it  does 
not  belong  to  the  Renaissance. 

There  still  remains  in  France  another  class  of  arches,  certainly  not 
triumphal,  but  so  similar  to  those  just  mentioned  that  it  is  difhcult 
to  separate  the  one  from  the  other.  The  most  important  of  these  are 
two  at  Autun,  called  respectively  tiie  Porte  Arroux  and  the  Porte  St. 
Andre,  a  view  of  which  is  given  in  Woodcut  No.  217.  Each  of  these 
has  two  central  large  archways  for  carriages,  and  one  on  each  side  for 
foot-passengers.  Their  most  remarkable  peculiarity  is  the  light  arcade 
VOL.  1.  —  22 


338 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


218. 


Plan  of  Porta  Nigra  at 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


or  gallery  that  runs  across  the  top  of  them,  replacing  the  attic  of  the 
Roman  arch,  and  giving  a  degree  of  lightness  combined  with  height 
that  those  never  possessed.  These  gates  were  certainly  not  meant  for 
defence,  and  the  apartment  over  them  could  scarcely  be  applied  to  utili- 
tarian purposes  ;  so  that  we  may,  I  believe,  consider  it  as  a  mere  orna- 
mental appendage,  or  as  a  balcony  for  display  on  festal  occasions.  It 
appears,  however,  to  offer  a  better  hint  for  modern  arch-builders  than 
any  other  example  of  its  class. 

Even  more  interesting  than  these  gates  at  Autun  is  that  called  the 
Porta  Nigra  at  Treves ;  for  though  far  ruder  in  style  and  coarser  in 
detail,  as  might  be  expected  from  the  remoteness  of  the  province  where 
it  is  found,  it  is  far  more  complete.  Indeed,. it  is  the  only  example  of 
its  class  which  we  possess  in  anything  like  its  original  state.    Its  front 

consists  of  a  double  archway  surmounted 
by  an  arcaded  gallery,  like  the  French 
examples.  Within  this  is  a  rectangular 
court  which  seems  never  to  have  been 
roofed,  and  beyond  this  a  second  double 
archway  similar  to  the  lirst.  At  the  ends  of 
the  court,  projecting  each  way  beyond  the 
face  of  the  gateway  and  the  gallery  sur- 
mounting it,  are  two  wings  four  stories  in  height,  containing  a  series 
of  apartments  in  the  form  of  small  basilicas,  all  similar  to  one  another, 

and  measuring  about 
55  ft.  by  22.  It  is  not 
easy  to  understand 
how  these  were  ap- 
proached, as  there  is 
no  stair  and  no  place 
for  one.  Of  course 
there  must  have  been 
some  mode  of  access, 
and  perhaps  it  may 
have  been  on  the  site 
of  the  apse,  shown  in 
the  plan  (Woodcut 
No.  218),  which  was 
added  when  the 
building  was  con- 
verted into  a  church 

in  the  Middle  Ages.  These  apartments  were  probably  originally  used 
as  courts  or  chambers  of  justice,  thus  realizing,  more  nearly  than  any 
other  European  example  I  am  acquainted  with,  the  idea  of  a  gate  of 
justice. 

Notwithstanding  its  defects  of  detail,  there  is  a  variety  in  the  out- 


219. 


View  of  the  Porta  Nigra  at  Treves, 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


GATES. 


339 


line  of  this  building  and  Ji boldness  of  profile  that  render  it  an  ex- 
tremely pleasing  example  of  the  style  adopted;  and  though  exhibiting 
many  of  the  faults  incidental  to  the  design  of  the  Colosseum,  it  pos- 
sesses all  that  repetition  of  parts  and  Gothic  feeling  of  design  which 
give  such  value  to  its  dimensions,  though  these  are  far  from  being- 
contemptible,  the  building  being  115  ft.  wide  by  95  in  height  to  the 
top  of  tlie  wings. 

There  probably  were  many  similar  gates  of  justice  in  the  province, 
but  all  have  perished,  unless  we  except  those  at  Autun  just  described. 
I  am  convinced  that  at  that  place  there  were  originally  such  wings 
as  these  at  Treves,  and  that  the  small  church,  the  apse  of  which  is 
seen  on  the  right  hand  (Woodcut  No.  217),  stands  upon  the  foundation 
of  one  of  these.  A  slight  excavation  on  the  opposite  side  would  settle 
this  point  at  once.    If  it  could  be  proved  that  these  gateways  at  Autun. 


220.   Bridge  at  Chamas.    (From  Laborde's  "  Monuments  de  la  France.") 


had  such  lateral  adjuncts,  it  would  at  once  explain  the  use  of  the 
gallery  over  the  arch,  which  otherwise  looks  so  unmeaning,  but  would 
be  intelligible  as  a  passage  connecting  the  two  wings  together. 

Another  form  also  is  that  of  an  arch  at  tlie  entrance  of  a  bridae, 
generally  bearing  an  inscription  commemorative  of  its  building.  Its 
purpose  is  thus  closely  connected  with  that  of  the  arches  before  men- 
tioned, which  commemorate  the  execution  of  roads.  Most  of  tlie  great 
bridges  of  Italy  and  Spain  were  so  adorned;  but  unfortunately  they 
have  been  either  used  as  fortifications  in  the  Middle  Ages,  or  removed 
in  modern  times  to  make  room  for  the  increased  circulation  of  traflic. 
That  built  by  Trajan  on  his  noble  bridge  at  Alcantara  in  Spain  is  well 
known  ;  and  there  exists  a  double-arched  bridge  at  Saintes^  in  the  south 
of  France.    The  most  elegant  and  most  perfect  specimen,  however,  of 


340 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  I. 


this  class  is  that  of  St.  Chamas  in  Provence,  represented  in  Woodcut 
No.  220.  It  consists  of  two  arches,  one  at  each  end  of  the  bridge,  of 
singular  elegance  of  form  and  detail.  Although  it  bears  a  still  legible 
inscription,  it  is  uncertain  to  what  age  it  belongs,  probably  that  of  the 
Antonines :  and  I  would  account  for  the  purity  of  its  details  by  refer- 
ring to  the  Greek  element  that  pervades  the  soutli  of  France.  Whether 
this  is  so  or  not,  it  is  impossible  not  to  admire  not  only  the  design  of 
the  whole  bridge  with  its  two  arches,  but  the  elegance  with  which 
the  details  have  been  executed. 

Used  in  this  mode  as  commencements  of  roads  or  entrances  to 
bridges,  or  as  festal  entrances  to  unfortified  towns,  there  are  perhaps 
no  monuments  of  tlie  second  class  more  appropriate  or  more  capable 
of  architectural  exjiression  than  these  arches,  though  all  of  them  have 
been  more  or  less  spoiled  by  an  incongruous  order  being  applied  to  them. 
Used,  however,  as  they  were  in  Rome,  as  monuments  of  victory,  witli- 
out  offering  even  an  excuse  for  a  passage  through  them,  the  taste  dis- 
played in  them  is  more  than  questionable :  the  manner,  too,  in  which 
they  were  cut  up  by  broken  cornices  and  useless  columns  placed  on 
tall  pedestals,  with  other  trivial  details  highly  objectionable,  deprive 
them  of  that  largeness  of  design  which  is  the  only  true  merit  and 
peculiar  characteristic  of  Roman  art,  while  that  exquisite  elegance 
with  which  the  Greeks  knew  so  well  how  to  dignify  even  the  most 
trivial  objects  was  in  them  almost  entirely  lost. 


Pillars  of  Victory. 

Pillars  of  Victory  are  a  class  of  monuments  which  seem  to  have 
been  used  in  the  East  in  very  early  times,  though  their  history  it  must 
be  confessed  is  somewhat  fragmentary  and  uncertain,  and  they  seem  to 
liave  been  adopted  by  the  Romans  in  those  provinces  where  they  had 
been  employed  by  the  earlier  inhabitants.  Whatever  the  original  may 
liave  been,  the  Romans  w^ere  singularly  unsuccessful  in  their  applica- 
tion of  the  form.  They  never,  in  fact,  rose  al)ove  the  idea  of  taking  a 
column  of  construction,  magnifying  it,  and  placing  it  on  a  pedestal, 
without  any  attempt  to  modify  its  details  or  hide  the  original  utilita- 
]"ian  purpose  for  which  the  pillar  Avas  designed.  When  they  attempted 
more  tlian  this  they  failed  entirely  in  elaborating  any  new^  form  at  all 
worthy  of  admiration.  The  Columna  Rostrata,  or  that  erected  to  cele- 
brate naval  victories,  Avas,  so  far  as  we  can  judge  from  representations 
(for  no  perfect  specimen  exists),  one  of  the  ugliest  and  clumsiest  forms 
of  pillar  it  is  })ossible  to  conceive. 

Of  those  of  Victory,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  is  that  erected  by 
Diocletian  at  Alexandria.  A  somewhat  similar  one  exists  at  Arsinoe 
erected  by  Alexander  Severus ;  and  a  third  at  Mylassa  in  Caria.  All 


Bk.  IV.  CHo  V. 


PILLARS  OF  VICTORY. 


341 


these  are  mere  Corinthian  pillars  of  the  usual  form,  and  with  the  details 
of  those  used  to  support  entablatures  in  porticoes.  Ilovvever  beautiful 
these  may  be  in  their  proper  place,  they  are  singularly  inappropriate 
and  ungraceful  when  used  as  minarets  or  single  columns. 

There  are  two  in  Rome  not  quite  so  bad  as  these,  both  being  of  the 
Doric  order.  Had  the  square  abacus  in  these  been  cut  to  a  round  form, 
and  ornamented  with  an  appropriate  railing,  we  might  almost  have  for 
gotten  their  original,  and  have  fancied  that  they  really  were  round 
towers  with  balconies  at  the  top.  The  great  object  of  their  erection  was 
to  serve  as  vehicles  for  sculpture, 
though  as  we  now  see  them,  or  as 
they  are  caricatured  at  Paris  and  else- 
where, they  are  little  more  than  in- 
stances of  immense  labor  bestowed 
to  very  little  purpose.  As  originally 
used,  these  pillars  were  placed  in  small 
courts  surrounded  by  open  porticoes, 
whence  the  spectator  could  at  two  or 
perhaps  at  three  different  levels  ex- 
amine the  sculpture  at  his  leisure  and 
at  a  convenient  distance,  while  the 
absurdity  of  the  pillar  supporting 
nothing  was  not  apparent,  from  its 
not  being  seen  from  the  outside.  This 
an-angement  is  explained  in  Woodcut 
No.  199,  which  is  a  section  through 
the  basilica  of  Trajan,  showing  the 
position  of  his  column,  not  only  with 
reference  to  that  building,  but  to  the 
surrounding  colonnade.  The  same  was 
almost  certainly  the  case  with  the 
pillar  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  which,  with 
slight  modifications,  seems  to  have 
been  copied  from  that  of  Trajan ;  but 
even  in  the  most  favorable  situations 
no  monuments  can  be  less  worthy  of 
admiration  or  of  being  copied  than 
these. 

A  far  better  specimen  of  this  class  is 
tliat  at  Cussi,  near  Beaune,  in  France. 
It  probably  belongs  to  the  time  of 
Aurelian,  but  it  is  not  known  either  by 
whom  it  was  erected  or  what  victory  it  was  designed  to  celebrate;  still 
that  it  is  a  pillar  of  victory  seems  undoubted ;  and  its  resemblance 
to  pillars  raised  with  the  same  object  in  India  is  quite  striking. 


(From  La- 
borde  s  "  Mouuiiieus  de  la  France.") 


222. 


Supposed  Capital  of  Column  at 
Cussi. 


342 


ROMAN"  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


The  arrangement  of  the  base  serving  as  a  pedestal  for  eight  statues 
is  not  only  elegant  but  appropriate.  The  ornament  which  covers  the 
shaft  takes  off  from  the  idea  of  its  being  a  mere  pillar,  and  at  the  same 
time  is  so  subdued  as  not  to  break  the  outline  or  interfere  with  con- 
structive propriety. 

The  capital,  of  the  Corinthian  order,  is  found  in  the  neighbor- 
hood used  as  the  mouth  of  a  well  In  its  original  position  it  no 
doubt  had  a  hole  through  it,  which  being  enlarged  suggested 
its  application  to  its  present  ignoble  purpose,  the  hole  being  no 
doubt  intended  either  to  receive  or  support  the  statue  or  emblem 
that  originally  crowned  the  monument,  but  of  that  no  trace  now 
remains. 

There  cannot  be  a  more  natural  mode  of  monumental  expression 
than  that  of  a  simple  upright  stone  set  up  by  the  victors  to  comme- 
morate their  prowess  and  success.  Accordingly  steles  or  pillars  erected 
for  this  purpose  are  found  everywhere,  and  take  shapes  as  various  as 
the  countries  where  they  stand  or  the  people  who  erected  them. 
In  Northern  Europe  they  are  known  as  Cath  or' battle-stones,  and  as' 
r^de  unhewn  monoliths  are  found  everywhere.  In  India  they  are  as 
elegant  and  as  elaborately  adorned  as  the  Kutub  Minar  at  Delhi,  but 
nowhere  was  their  true  architectural  expression  so  mistaken  as  in 
Rome.  There,  by  ])erverting  a  feature  designed  for  one  purpose  to  a 
totally  different  use,  an  example  of  bad  taste  was  given  till  then 
unknown,  though  in  our  days  it  has  become  not  uncommon. 


Tombs  o 

In  that  strange  collection  of  the  styles  of  all  nations  which  mingled 
together  makes  up  the  sum  of  Roman  art,  nothing  strikes  the  architec- 
tural student  with  more  astonishment  than  the  number  and  importance 
of  their  tombs.  If  the  Romans  are  of  Aryan  origin,  as  is  generally 
assumed,  they  are  the  only  people  of  that  race  among  whom  tomb- 
building  was  not  utterly  neglected.  The  imj)ortance  of  the  tombs 
among  the  Roman  remains  proves  one  of  two  things.  Either  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  Etruscan  blood  was  mixed  up  with  that  of  the 
dominant  race  in  Rome,  or  that  the  fierce  and  inartistic  Romans,  having 
no  art  of  their  own,  were  led  blindly  to  copy  that  of  the  people  among 
whom  they  were  located. 

Of  the  tombs  of  Consular  Rome  nothing  remains  except  perhaps 
the  sarcophagus  of  Scipio  ;  and  it  is  only  on  the  eve  of  the  Empire  that 
we  meet  with  .the  well-known  one  of  C^ecilia  Metella,  the  wife  of 
Crassus,  which  is  not  only  the  best  specimen  of  a  Roman  tomb  now 
remaining  to  us,  but  the  oldest  architectural  building  of  the  imperial 
city  of  which  we  have  an  authentic  date.    It  consists  of  a  bold  square 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


TOMBS. 


343 


basement  about  100  ft.  square,^  which  was  originally  ornamented  in 
some  manner  not  now  intelligible.  From  this  rose  a  circular  tower 
about  94  ft.  in  diameter,  of  very  bold 
masonry,  surmounted  by  a  frieze  of 
Ox-skulls  with  wreaths  joining  them, 
and  a  well-profiled  cornice:  two  or 
three  courses  of  masonry  above  this 
seem  to  have  belonged  to  the  original 
work;  and  above  this,  almost  cer- 
tainly, in  the  original  design  rose 
a  conical  roof,  which  has  j3erishedo 
The  tower  having  been  used  as  a 
fortress  in  the  Middle  Ages,  battle- 
ments have  been  added  to  supply 
the  place  of  the  roof,  and  it  has 
been  otherwise  disfigured,  so  as  to 
detract  much  from .  its  beauty,  as 
now  seen.  Still  we  have  no  tomb  of 
the  same  importance  so  perfect,  nor  one  which  enables  us  to  connect 
the  Roman  tombs  so  nearly  with  the  Etruscan.  The  only  addition  in 
this  instance  is  that  of  the  square  basement  or  podium,  though  even 
this  was  not  unknown  at  a  much  earlier  period,  as  for  instance  in  the 
tomb  of  Aruns  (Woodcut  No.  176).  The  exaggerated  height  of  the 
circular  base  is  also  remarkable.  Here  it  rises  to  be  a  tower  instead 
of  a  mere  circular  base  of  stones  for  the  earthen  cone  of  the  original 
sepulchrCo  The  stone  roof  which  probably  surmounted  the  tower  was 
a  mere  reproduction  of  the  original  earth. 

Next  in  age  and  importance  was  the  tomb  of  Augustus  in  the 
Campus  Martins.  It  is  now  so  completely  ruined  that  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  make  out  its  plan,  and  those  who  drew  and  restored  it  in 
former  days  were  so  careless  in  their  measurements  that  even  its 
dimensions \cannot  be  ascertained :  it  appears,  however,  to  have  con- 
sisted of  a  circular  basement  about  300  ft.  in  diameter,  and  about  60 
ft.  in  height,  adorned  with  12  large  niches.  Above  this  rose  a  cone 
of  earth  as  in  the  Etruscan  tombs,  not  smooth  like  those,  but  divided 
into  terraces,  which  were  planted  with  trees.  We  also  learn  from 
Suetonius  that  Augustus  laid  out  the  grounds  around  his  tomb  and 
planted  them  with  gardens  for  public  use  during  his  lifetime.  More 
like  the  practice  of  a  true  Mogul  in  the  East  than  the  ruler  of  an 
Indo-Germanic  people  in  Europe. 

This  tomb,  however,  was  far  surpassed,  not  only  in  solidity  but  in 
splendor,  by  that  which  Hadrian  erected  for  himself  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tiber,  now  known  as  the  Mole  of  Hadrian,  or  more  frequently  the 

1  I  am  extremely  uncertain  about  the  dimensions  of  this  building :  these  are 
the  best  I  can  find. 


223.    Tomb  of  Cajcilia  iletella. 


344 


HOMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  T. 


Castle  of  St.  Angelo.  The  basement  of  this  great  tomb  was  a  square, 
about  340  ft.  each  way  and  about  75  ft.  high.  Above  this  rose  a  cir- 
cular tower  235  ft.  in  diameter  and  140  ft.  in  height.  The  whole  was 
crowned  either  by  a  dome  or  by  a  conical  roof*  in  steps,  which,  with 
its  central  ornament,  nmst  have  risen  to  a  height  of  not  less  than  300 
ft.  The  circular  or  towerdike  part  of  this  splendid  building  was 
ornamented  witli  columns,  but  in  what  manner  restorers  have  not 
been  quite  able  to  agree ;  some  making  two  stories,  both  with  pillars, 
some,  one  of  pillars  and  the  upper  one  of  pilasters.  It  would  require 
more  Qorrect  measurements  than  we  have  to  enable  us  to  settle  this 
point,  but  it  seems  probable  that  there  was  only  one  range  of  columns 
on  a  circular  basement  of  some  height  surmounted  by  an  attic  of  at 
least  equal  dimensions.  The  order  might  have  been  70  ft.,  the  base 
and  attic  35  ft.  each. 

Internally  the  mass  was  nearly  solid,  there  being  only  one  sepul- 
chral aj^artment,  as  nearly  as  may  be  in  the  centre  of  the  mass, 
approached  by  an  inclined  plane,  winding  round  the  whole  building, 
from  the  entrance  in  the  centre  of  the  river  face. 

Besides  these  there  was  another  class  of  tond^s  in  Rome,  called 
columbaria,  generally  oblong  or  square  rooms  below  the  level  of  the 
ground,  the  walls  of  wliich  were  i)ierced  with  a  great  number  of  little 
uigeon-lioles  or  cells  just  of  sufficient  size  to  receive  an  urn  containing 

the  ashes  of  the 


adorned  internally  with  pilasters  and  painted  ornaments  of  consid- 
erable beauty. 

In  the  earlier  ages  of  the  Roman  Empire  these  two  forms  of  tombs 
characterized  with  sufficient  clearness  the  two  races,  each  with  their 
distinctive  customs,  which  made  up  the  population  of  Rome.  Long 
before  its  expiration  the  two  were  fused  together  so  thoroughly  that 
we  lose  all  trace  of  the  distinction,  and  a  new  form  of  tomb  arose 
compounded  of  the  two  older,  which  became  the  typical  form  with 
the  early  Christians,  and  from  them  passed  to  the  Saracens  and  other 
]:astern  nations. 


body,  which  had 
been  burnt  ac- 
cording to  the 
usual  Roman 
mode  of  disposing 
of  the  dead.  Ex- 
ternally of  course 
they  had  no  archi- 
tecture, though 
some  of  the  more 
important  fam- 
ily sepulchres  of 
this    class  were 


224.    Columbarium  near  th'^  Gate  of  St.  Sebastian,  Rome. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


TOMBS. 


345 


The  new  form  of  tomb  retained  exterii.ally  the  circular  form  of  tlie 
Pelasgic  sepulchre,  though  constructive  necessities  afterwards  caused 
it  to  become  polygonal.  Instead,  however,  of  being  solid,  or  nearly  so, 
the  walls  were  only  so  thick  as  was  necessary  to  support  the  dome, 
which  became  the  universal  form  of  roof  of  tliese  buildings. 

The  sepulchres  of  Rome  have  as  yet  been  far  too  carelessly  examined 
to  enable  us  to  trace  all  the  steps  by  which  the  transformation  took 
place,  but  as  a  general  rule  it  may  be  stated  that  the  gradual  enlarge- 
ment of  the  central  circular  apartment  is  almost  a  certain  test  of  the 
age  of  a  tomb ;  till  at  last,  before  the  age  of  Constant ine,  they  became 
in  fact  representations  of  the  Pantheon  on  a  small  scale,  almost  always 
with  a  crypt  or  circular  vault  below  the  principal  apartment. 

One  of  the  most  curious  transitional  specimens  is  that  found 
near  San  Vito,  represented  in  Woodcut  No.  225.  Here  as  in  all  tlie 
earlier  specimens,  the  principal  apartment  is  the  lower,  in  the  scpiare 
basement.  The  upper,  Avhich  has  lost  its  decoration,  has  the  appearance 
of  having  been  hollowed  out  of  the  frustum  of  a  gigantic  Doric  column, 
or  rather  out  of  a  solid  tower  like  the  central  one  of  the  Tomb  of  Aruns 
(Woodcut  No.  176).  Shortly  after  the  age  of  this  sepulchre  the  lower 
apartment  became  a  mere  crypt,  and  in  such  examples  as  those  of  the 
sepulchres  of  the  Cornelia  and  Tossia  families  we  have  merely  miniature 
Pantheons  somewhat  taller  in 
proportion,  and  with  a  crypt. 
This  is  still  more  remarkable 
in  a  building  called  the  Torre 
dei  Schiavi,  which  has  had  a 
portico  attached  to  one  side, 
and  in  other  respects  looks 
very  like  a  direct  imitation 
of  that  celebrated  temple.  It 
seems  certainly,  however,  to 
have  been  built  for  a  tomb. 

Another  tomb,  very  similar 
to  that  of  the  Tossia  family,  is 
called  that  of  Sta.  Helena,  the 
mother  of  Constantine.  If  it 
is  not  hers,  it  belongs  at  any 
rate  to  the  last  days  of  the 
Empire,  and  may  be  taken  as 
a  fair  specimen  of  the  tombs 
of  that  age  and  class.  It  is  a  vast  transition  from  the  tomb  of  Caecilia 
Metella,  thougli,like  all  the  changes  introduced  by  the  Romans,  it  shows 
the  never-failing  tendency  to  transfer  all  ai-cliitectural  embellishments 
from  the  exterior  to  the  interior  of  every  style  of  building. 

It  consists  of  a  basement  about  100  ft.  square,  containing  the  crypt. 


225.    Section  of  Sepulchre  at  Sau  Vito.   No  scale. 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


Oil  tills  stands  a  circular  tower  in  two  stories.  In  the  lower  story  is  a 
circular  apartment  about  66  ft.  in  diameter,  surrounded  by  eight 
niches ;  in  the  upper  the  niches  are  external,  and  each  is  pierced  with  a 
window.  The  dimensions  of  the  tomb  are  nearly  the  same  as  those  of 
Ciecilia  Metella,  and  it  thus  affords  an  excellent  opportunity  of  com- 
paring the  two  extremes  of  the  series,  and  of  contrasting  the  early 
Roman  with  the  early  Christian  tomb. 

The  typical  example  of  a  sepulchre  of  this  age  is  the  tomb  or  bapti- 
tery  of  Sta.  Costanza,  the  daughter  of  Constantine  (Woodcut  No.  295). 
In  this  building  the  pillars  that  adorned  the  exterior  of  such  a  mauso- 
leum, for  instance,  as  that  of  Hadrian,  are  introduced  internally.  Ex- 
ternally the  building  never  can  have  had  much  ornament.    But  the 


226.    Section  and  Elevation  of  Tomb  of  Sta.  Helena,  Rome.   No  scale. 

breaks  between  the  lower  aisle  and  the  central  compartment,  pierced 
with  the  clerestory,  must  have  had  a  very  pleasing  effect.  In  this 
example  there  is  still  shown  a  certain  degree  of  timidity,  which  does 
not  afterw^ards  reappear.  The  columns  are  coupled  and  are  far  more 
numerous  than  they  need  have  been,  and  are  united  by  a  fragment  of 
an  entablature,  as  if  the  architect  had  been  afraid  to  ])\ace  his  vault 
directly  on  the  capitals.  Notwithstanding  these  defects,  it  is  a  pleasing 
and  singularly  instructive  example  of  a  completed  transformation,  and 
is  just  what  we  miss  in  those  secular  buildings  for  which  the  Chris- 
tians had  no  use. 

Another  building,  ^^'llicll  is  now  known  as  the  Lateran  Baptistery 
(Woodcut  No  294),  was  also  undoubtedly  a  place  of  sepulture.  Its 
erection  is  generally  ascribed  to  Constantine,  and  it  is  said  was  in- 
tended by  him  to  be  the  place  of  his  own  sepulture.  Whether  this  is 
correct  or  not,  it  certainly  belongs  to  his  age,  and  exhibits  all  the 
characteristics  of  the  architecture  of  his  time.  Here  the  central  apart- 
ment, never  having  been  designed  to  support  a  dome,  is  of  a  far  lighter 
construction,  an  upper  order  of  pillars  being  placed  on  the  lower,  with 
merely  a  slight  architrave  and  frieze  running  between  the  two  orders, 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


TOMBS. 


347 


the  external  walls  being  slight  in  construction  and  octagonal  in  plan.i 
We  must  not  in  this  place  pursue  any  further  the  subject  of  the  transi- 
tion of  style,  as  we  have  already  trespassed  within  the  pale  of  Chris- 
tian architecture  and  passed  beyond  the  limits  of  Heathen  art.  So 
gradual,  however,  was  the  change,  and  so  long  in  preparation,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  draw  the  line  exactly  where  the  separation  actually  took 
place  between  the  two. 


Temple  of  Minerva  »Medica. 

One  important  building  remains  to  be  mentioned  before  leaving 
this  part  of  the  subject.  It  commonly  goes  by  the  name  of  the  Temple 
of  Minerva  Medica,  though  this  is  certainly  a  misnomer.  Recently  it 
has  become  the  fashion  to  assume  that  it  was  the  hall  of  some  bath ; 
no  building  of  that  class,  however,  was  known  to  exist  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  any  should 
be  found  outside  the  Servian  walls  in  this  direction;  moreover, 
it  is  wanting  in  all  the  necessary  accompaniments  of  such  an 
establishment. 

It  is  here  placed  with  the  tombs,  because  its  site  is  one  that  would 
justify  its  being  so  classed,  and  its  form  being  just  such  as  would  be 
applicable  to  that  purpose  and  to  no  other.  It  is  not  by  any  means  cer- 
tain, however,  that  it  is  a  tomb,  though  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any 
more  probable  supposition.  It  certainly  belongs  to  the  last  days  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  if  indeed  it  be  not  a  Christian  building,  which  I  am 
very  much  inclined  to  believe  it  is,  for,  on  comparing  it  with  the 
Baptistery  of  Constantine  and  the  tomb  of  Sta.  Costanza,  it  shows  a 
considerable  advance  in  construction  on  both  these  buildings,  and  a 
greater  similarity  to  San  Vitale  at  Ravenna,  and  other  buildings  of 
Justinian's  time,  than  to  anything  else  now  found  in  Rome. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  plan  and  section  (Woodcuts  Nos.  227  and 
228),  it  has  a  dome,  80  ft.  in  diameter,  resting  on  a  decagon  of  singu- 
larly light  and  elegant  construction.  Nine  of  the  compartments  con- 
tain niches  which  give  great  room  on  the  floor,  as  well  as  great  variety 
and  lightness  to  the  general  design.  Above  this  is  a  clerestory  of  ten 
well-proportioned  windows,  which  give  light  to  the  building,  perhaps 
not  in  so  effective  a  manner  as  the  one  eye  of  the  Pantheon,  though  by  a 
far  more  convenient  arrangement,  to  protect  from  the  elements  a  people 
who  did  not  possess  glass.  So  far  as  I  know,  all  the  domed  buildings 
erected  by  the  Romans  up  to  the  time  of  Constantine,  and  indeed  long 
afterwards,  were  circular  in  the  interior,  though,  like  the  temple  built 
by  Diocletian  at  Spalatro,  they  were  sometimes  octagonal  externally. 


*  These  two  buildings  are  described  further  on  (p.  431)  as  Christian  edifices. 


348 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


227. 


Plan  of  Minerva  Medica  at  Rome,  as  restored  in  Isabelle's 
"  Edifices  Circulaires,"  on  the  theory  of  its  being  a  Bath. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


This,  however,  is  a  polygon  both  internally  and  on  the  outside,  and 
the  mode  in  which  the  dome  is  placed  on  the  polygon  shows  the  first 

rudiments  of  the 
pendentive  system, 
which  was  after- 
wards carried  to 
such  perfection  by 
the  Byzantine  archi- 
tects,but  is  nowhere 
else  to  be  found 
in  Rome.  It  prob- 
ably was  for  the 
purpose  of  some- 
wiiat  diminishing 
the  difficulties  of 
this  construction 
that  the  architect 
adopted  a  figure 
with  ten  instead  of 
eight  sides. 

This,  too,  is,  I 
believe,  the  first 
building  in  which 
buttresses  are  ap- 
plied so  as  to  give 
strength  to  the 
walls  exactly  at  the 
jDoint  where  it  is 
most  wanted.  By 
this  arrangement 
the  architect  was 
enabled  to  dispense  with  nearly  one-half  the  quantity  of  material  that 
was  thought  necessary  when  the  dome  of  the  Pantheon  was  con- 
structed, and  which  he  must  have  employed 
had  he  copied  that  building.  Besides  this, 
the  dome  was  ribbed  Avith  tiles,  as  shown 
in  Woodcut  No.  229,  and  the  space  between 
the  ribs  filled  in  with  inferior,  perhaps 
lighter  masonry,  bonded  together  at  certain 
heights  by  horizontal  courses  of  tiles  where 
necessary. 

Besides  the  lightness  and  variety  which 
the  base  of  this  building  derives  from  the 
niches,  it  is  10  ft.  higher  than  its  diameter,  which  gives  to  it  that 
proportion  of  height  to  width,  the  want  of  which  is  the  principal 


228. 


Section  of  Minerva  Medica.    (From  Isabelle.) 
Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


29.  Rib  of  the  Roof  of  the 
Minerva  Medica  at  Rome. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


TOMBS. 


349 


defect  of  the  Pantheon.  It  is  not  known  what  the  side  erections 
are  which  are  usually  sliown  in  the  ground-plans,  nor  even  whether 
they  are  coeval  with  the  main 
central  edifice.  I  suspect  they 
have  never  been  very  correctly 
laid  down. 

Taking  it  altogether,  the 
building  is  certainly,  both  as 
concerns  construction  and  pro- 
portion, by  far  the  most  scientific 
of  all  those  in  ancient  Rome,  and 
in  these  respects  as  far  superior 
to  tiie  Pantheon  as  it  is  inferior 
to  that  temple  in  size.  Indeed 
there  are  few  inventions  of  the 
Middle  Ages  that  are  not  at- 
tempted here  or  in  the  Temple 
of  Peace  —  but  more  in  this  than 
in  the  latter ;  so  much  so,  indeed, 
that  I  cannnot  help  believing 
that  it  is  much  more  modern 
than  is  generally  supposed. 

As  might  be  expected  from  our 
knowledge  of  the  race  that  inha- 
bited the  European  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire,  there  are  very  few 
specimens  of  tombs  of  any  importance  to  be  found  in  them.  One  very 
beautiful  example  exists  at  St.  Remi,  reiiresented  in  the  annexed  wood- 
cut (No.  230).  It  can  hardly,  however,  be  correctly  called  a  tomb,  but  is, 
rather  a  cenotaph,  or  a  monument,  erected,  as  the  inscription  on  it  tells 
us,  by  Sextus  and  Marcus,  of  the  family  of  the  Julii,  to  their  parents, 
whose  statues  appear  under  the  dome  of  the  upper  story.  There  is  noth- 
ing funereal  either  in  the  inscription  or  the  form,  nor  anything  to  lead  us, 
to  suppose  that  the  bodies  of  the  parents  rejiose  beneath  its  foundation. 

The  lower  portion  of  this  monument  is  the  square  basement  which 
the  Romans  always  added  to  the  Etruscan  form  of  tond).  Upon  this 
stands  a  story  pierced  with  an  archway  in  each  face,  with  a  three- 
quarter  ])illar  of  the  Corinthian  order  at  every  angle.  The  highest 
part  is  a  circular  colonnade,  a  miniature  copy  of  that  which  we  know 
to  have  once  encircled  Hadrian's  Mole. 

The  open  arrangement  of  the  arches  and  colonnade,  ivhile  it  takes 
off  considerably  from  the  tomb-like  simplicity  appropriate  to  such 
buildings,  adds  very  much  to  the  lightness  and  elegance  of  the  whole. 
Altogether  the  building  has  much  more  of  the  aspiring  character  of 
Christian  art  than  of  the  more  'solid  and  horizontal  forms  which 
were  characteristic  of  the  style  then  dying  out. 


230.   Tomb  at  St.  K6ini.    (From  Laborde's 
"  Monumens  de  la  France.") 


350 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE 


Part  1. 


Another  monument  of  very  singular  and  exceptional  form  is  found 


at  Igel 


near  Treves,  in  Germany.  It  is  so  unlike  anything  found 
in  Italy  or  indeed  anything  of  the  Roman 
age,  that  were  its  date  not  perfectly  known 
from  the  inscription  upon  it,  one  might 
rather  be  inclined  to  ascribe  it  to  the  age  of 
Francis  I,  than  to  the  latter  days  of  the 
Roman  Empire. 

The  form  is  graceful,  though  the  pilasters 
and  architectural  ornaments  seem  somewhat 
misplaced.  It  is  covered  with  sculptures 
from  top  to  bottom.  These,  however,  as  is 
generally  the  case  with  Roman  funereal 
monuments,  have  no  reference  to  death,  nor 
to  the  life  or  actions  of  the  person  to  whom 
the  monument  is  sacred,  but  are  more  like 
the  scenes  painted  on  a  wall  or  ornamental 
stele  anywhere.  The  principal  object  on  the 
face  represented  in  the  woodcut  is  the  sun, 
but  the  subjects  are  varied  on  each  face,  and, 
though  much  time-worn,  they  still  give  a 
very  perfect  idea  of  the  rich  ornamentation 
of  the  monuments  of  the  last  age  of  the 
Empire. 

The  Tour  Magne  at  Nimes  is  too  im- 
portant a  monument  to  be  passed  over, 
though  in  its  present  ruined  state  it  is 
almost  more  difficult  to  explain  than  any 
..^..^..j,,:,..,.  Other  Roman  remains  that  have  reached  our 

times.     It  consists  of  an  octagonal  tower 
50  ft.  in  diameter,  and  now  about  120  ft. 
y  -  u -H^SSJ  high.    The  basement  is  extended  beyond 

this  tower  on  every  side  by  a  series  of  arches 
supporting  a  terrace  to  which  access  was 
obtained  by  an  external  flight  of  steps,  or 
rather  an  inclined  plane.  From  the  marks 
in  the  walls  it  seems  evident  that  this 
terrace  originally  supported  a  pei-istyle,  or, 
possibly,  a  range  of  chambers.  Within  the 
basement  is  a  great  chamber  covered  by  a 
dome  of  rubble  masonry,  to  which  no  access  could  be  obtained  from 
without,  but  the  interior  may  have  been  reached  through  the  eye 
of  the  dome.  From  the  terrace  an  important  flight  of  steps  led 
upwards  to  —  what  ?  It  is  almost  impossible  to  refrain  from  answering, 
to  a  cella,  like  those  which  crowned  the  tomb  temples  of  Assyria. 


231.  Moiiuiuent  at  Igel, 
Treves.  (From  Schmidt's 
tiquities  of  Treves.") 


near 
"Au- 


£iK.  IV  Ch.  V. 


TOMBS. 


351 


That,  the  main  object  of  the  building  was  sepulchral  seems  liardly 
doubtful,  but  we  have  no  other  instance  in  Europe  of  a  tomb  with 
such  a  staircase  leading  to  a  chamber  above  it. 

That  Marseilles  was  a  Phoenician  and  then  a  Phocian  colony  long 
before  Roman  times  seems  generally  to  be  admitted,  and  that  in  tlie 
temple  of  Diana  (Woodcuts  Nos.  188  and  189)  and  in  this  building 
there  is  an  Etruscan  or  Eastern  element  which  can  hardly  be  mis- 
taken, and  may  lead  to  very  important  ethnographical  indications 
when  more  fully  investigated  and  better  understood. 


Eastern  Tombs. 

This  scarcity  of  tombs  in  the  western  part  of  the  Roman  Empire 
is  to  a  great  extent  made  up  for  in  the  East ;  but  the  history  of  those 
erected  under  the  Roman  rule  in  Jhat  part  of  the  world  is  as  yet  so 
little  known  that  it  is  not  easy  eitlier  to  classify  or  to  describe  them ; 
and  as  nearly  all  those  which  have  been  preserved  are  cut  in  the  rock, 
it  is  sometimes  difficult  —  as  wdth  other  rock-cut  objects  all  over  the 
world — to  understand  the  form  of  building  from  which  they  were  copied . 

The  three  principal  groups  of  tombs  of  the  Roman  epoch  are  those 
of  Petra,  Cyrene,  and  Jerusalem.  Though  many  other  important 
tombs  exist  in  those  countries,  they  are  so  little  known  that  they  must 
be  passed  over  for  the  present. 

From  the  time  when  Abraham  was  laid  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah 
until  after  the  Christian  era,  we  know  that  burying  in  the  rock  was  not 
the  exception  but  the  general  practice  among  the  nations  of  this  part 
of  the  East.  So  far  as  can  be  known,  the  example  was  set  by  Egypt, 
which  was  the  parent  of  much  of  their  civilization.  In  Egypt  the 
fagade  of  their  rock-cut  totnbs  were  —  with  the  solitary  exception  of 
those  of  Beni  Hassan  i  — ornamented  so  simply  and  unobtrusively  as 
rather  to  belie  than  to  announce  their  internal  magnificence.  All  the 
oldest  Asiatic  tombs  seem  to  have  been  mere  holes  in  the  rock,  wholly 
without  architectural  decorations. 

We  have  seen,  however,  how  the  Persian  kings  copied  their  palace 
fa9ades  to  adorn  their  last  resting-places,  and  how  about  the  same  time 
in  Lycia  the  tonib-builders  copied,  first  their  own  wooden  structures, 
and  afterwards  the  architectural  fa9ades  which  they  had  learned  from 
tlie  Greeks  how  to  construct.  But  it  was  not  till  the  Roman  period 
that  this  species  of  magnificence  extended  to  the  places  enumerated 
above ;  when  to  such  an  extent  did  it  prevail  at  Petra  as  to  give  to  that 
now  deserted  valley  the  appearance  of  a  petrified  city  of  the  dead. 

The  typical  and  most  beautiful  tomb  of  this  place  is  that  called 


1  See  p.  110,  and  Woodcut  15. 


352 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1 


the  Khasne  or  Treasury  of  Pharaoli  —  represented  in  elevation  and 
section  in  the  annexed  woodcuts,  Nos.  232  and  233.  As  will  be  seen, 
it  consists  of  a  square  basement,  adorned  with  a  portico  of  four  very 


232.    Kliasne.    (From  Laborde's  "  Petra  and  Mount  Sinai.") 


beautiful  Corinthian  pillars,  surmounted  by  a  pediment  of  low  Greciar 
pitch.  Above  this  are  three  very  singular  turrets,  the  use  and  appli- 
cation of  which  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  understand.  The  central 
one  is  circular, -and  is  of  a  well-understood  sepulchral  form,  the  use 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


TOMBS. 


353 


of  which,  had  it  been  more  important,  or  had  it  stood  alone,  would 
have  been  intelligible  enough;  but  what  are  the  side  turrets?  If  ouo 
might  hazard  so  bold  a  conjec- 
ture, I  would  suggest  that  the 
original  from  which  this  is  de- 
rived was  a  five-turreted  tomb, 
like  that  of  Aruns  (Woodcut 
No.  176),  or  that  of  Alyattes  at 
Sard  is,  wdiich  in  course  of  time 
became  translated  into  so  foreign 
a  shape  as  this ;  but  where  are 
the  intermediate  forms  ?  and  by 
w^hom  and  when  was  this  change 
effected  ?  Before  forming  any 
theories  on  this  subject,  it  wiW 
be  well  to  consider  whether  all 
these  buildings  really  are  tombs. 
Most  of  them  undoubtedly  are 
so ;  but  may  not  the  name  el 
Deir^  or  the  Convent,  applied  by 
the  Arabs  to  one  of  the  principal 
rock-cut  monuments  of  Petra,  be 
after  all  the  true  designation? 
Are  none  of  them,  in  short,  cells 
for  jjriests,  like  the  viharas  found 
in  India?  All  who  have  hitherto 
visited  these  spots  have  assumed 
at  once  that  everything  cut  in  tlie  rock  must  be  a  tomb,  but  I  am 
much  mistaken  if  this  is  really  the  case  with  all. 

To  return,  however,  to  the  Khasne.  Though  all  the  forms  of  the 
architecture  are  Roman,  the  details  are  so  elegant  and  generally  so 
well  designed,  as  almost  to  lead  to  the  suspicion  that  there  must  have 
been  some  Grecian  influence  brought  to  bear  upon  the  work.  The 
masses  of  rock  left  above  the  wings  show  how  early  a  specimen  of 
its  class  it  is,  and  how  little  practice  its  designers  could  have  had  in 
copying  in  the  rock  the  forms  of  their  regular  buildings. 

A  little  further  within  the  city  is  found  another  very  similar 
in  design  to  this,  but  far  inferior  to  it  in  detail  and  execution,  and 
showing  at  least  a  century  of  degradation,  though  at  the  same  time 
presenting  an  adaptation  to  rock-cut  forms  not  found  in  the  earlier 
examples. 

A  third  is  that  above  alluded  to,  called  el  Deir.    This  is  the 
same  in  general  outline  as  the  two  former  —  of  an  order  neither 
Greek  nor  Roman,  but  with  something  like  a  Doric  frieze  over  a 
very  plain  Corinthian  capital.    In  other  respects  it  presents  no  new 
VOL.  I. —  23 


233.     Section  of  Tomb  at  Khasn6.    (From  La- 
borde's  "Mount  Sinai,"  p.  1750 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


TOMBS. 


355 


feature  except  the  apparent  absence  of  a  door  and  on  the  whole,  it 
seeins,  if  finished,  to  deserve  its  name  less  than  either  of  the  other 
two. 

Perhaps  the  most  singular  object  among  these  tombs,  if  tombs  they 
are,  is  the  flat  facade  with  three  stories  of  pillars  one  over  the  other 
—  slightly  indicated  on  the  left  of  the  Corinthian  tomb  in  Woodcut 
No.  234.  It  is  like  the  proscenium  of  some  of  the  more  recent  Greek 
theatres.  If  it  was  really  the  frontispiece  to  a  tomb,  it  was  totally 
unsuitable  to  the  purpose,  and  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  complete 
misapplications  of  Greek  architecture  ever  made. 

Generally  speaking,  the  interiors  of  these  buildings  are  so  plain  that 


235.   Rock-cut  interior  at  Petra.    (From  Laborde's  "  Sinai,"  p.  198.) 


travellers  have  not  cared  either  to  draw  or  measure  them ;  one,  how- 
ever, represented  in  the  annexed  woodcut  (No.  235),  is  richly  orna- 
mented, and,  as  far  as  can  be  judged  from  what  is  published,  is  as 
unlike  a  tomb  as  it  is  like  a  vihara.  But,  as  before  remarked,  they  all 
require  re-examination  before  tlie  purpose  for  which  they  were  cut  can 
be  pronounced  upon  with  any  certainty. 

The  next  group  of  tombs  is  that  at  Jerusalem.'  These  are 
undoubtedly  all  sepulchres.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  them  are 
wholly  devoid  of  architectural  ornament.  To  the  north  of  the  city 
is  a  group  known  as  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings,  with  a  fa9ade  of  a 


356 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  I. 


corrupt  Doric  order,  similar  to  some  of  the  latest  Etruscan  tombs. i 
These  are  now  very  mucli  ruined,  but  still  retain  sufficient  traces  of  the 

original  design  to  fix  their  date 
~  within  or  subsequently  to  the 

Herodian  period  without  much 
possibility  of  doubt.  A  some- 
what similar  fa9ade,  but  of  a 
form  more  like  the  Greek  Doric, 
found  in  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat  bears  the  name  of  the 
Sepulchre  of  St.  James. 

Close  to  this  is  a  square  tomb, 
known  as  that  of  Zechariah,  cut 

free. 


;r    -  --^      m  the  rock. 


but  standing 


236.    Fn^ade  ut  ii^^  i  ,       iuiabj^,  truiii  a 
Photograph. 


Each  face  is  adorned  with  Ionic 
pillars  and  square  piers  at  the 
angles,  the  whole  being  crown- 
ed with  a  pyramidal  roof.  Per- 
haps this  building  should  prop- 
erly be  called  a  cenotaph,  as 
it  is  perfectly  solid,  and  no  cave 
or  sepulchral  vault  has  been 
found  beneath  it,  though  judg- 
ing from  analogies  one  might 
yet  be  found  if  properly  looked 
for.  A  tomb  with  an  architect- 
ural ffl9ade,  similar  to  that  ol 
of  the  so-called  Tomb  of  the 
Judges,  does  exist  behind  it  cut 
in  rock,  and  is  consequently  of 
more  modern  construction.  It 
may  be  to  mark  this  that  the 
architectural  monolith  was  left. 

Close  to  this  is  another  iden- 
tical with  it  in  as  far  as  the 
basement  is  concerned,  and  Avhich  is  now  popularly  known  as  the 
Tomb  of  Absalom  ;  but  in  this  instance  the  pyramid  has  been  rej^laced 
with  a  structural  spire,  and  it  is  probable  when  this  was  done  that 
the  chamber  which  now  exists  in  its  interior  was  excavated. 


So-called  "  Tomb  of  Zechariah. 


^  M.  deSaulcy  has  recently  attempted 
to  prove  that  these  tombs  are  those  of 
the  kings  of  Judah  from  David  down- 
wards. Their  architecture  is  undoubt- 
edly as  late  as  the  Christian  era,  and  the 


cover  of  the  sarcophagus  which  is  now 
in  the  Louvre  under  the  title  of  that 
of  David  is  probably  of  the  same  date 
as  these  tombs,  or  if  anything  more 
modern. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


TOMBS. 


357 


The  so-called  Tomb  of  Absalom. 


One  of  the  remarkable  points  in  these  tombs" is  tlie  curious  jumble 
of  the  Roman  orders  which  they  j^resent.  The  pillars  and  pilasters 
are  Ionic,  the  architrave  and 
frieze  Doric,  and  the  cornice 
Egyptian.  The  capitals  and 
frieze  are  so  distinctly  late 
Roman,  that  we  can  feel  no  hesi- 
tation as  to  their  date  being 
either  of  the  age  of  Herod  or 
subsequent  to  that  time.  In  an 
architectural  point  of  view  the 
cornice  is  too  plain  to  be  pleas- 
ing if  not  painted ;  it  probably 
tlierefore  was  so  treated. 

Another  class  of  these  tombs 
is  represented  by  the  so-called 
Tomb  of  the  Judges  (Woodcut 
No.  240).  These  are  ornamented 
by  a  tympanum  of  a  Greek  or 
Roman  temple  filled  with  a 
scroll-work  of  rich  but  debased 
l^attern,  and  is  evidently  de- 
rived from  something  similar, 
tliough  Grecian  in  design.  In 
age  it  is  certainly  more  recent 
than  the  so-called  Tomb  of 
Zechariah,  as  one  of  precisely 
similar  design  is  found  cut  into 
the  face  of  the  rock  out  of  which 
that  monument  was  excavated. 

The  third  group  is  that  of 
Cyrene,  on  the  African  coast. 
Notwithstanding  the  researches 
of  Admiral  Beechey  and  of 
M.  Pacho,!  and  the  still  more 
recent  explorations  of  Messrs. 
Smith  and  Porcher,  above  re- 
ferred to  (p.  277),  they  are  still 
much  loss  perfectly  known  to 
us  than  they  should  be.  Their 
number  is  immense,  and  they 
almost   all   have  architectural 


m 

Si 

Angle  of  Tomb  of  Absalom. 
De  Saulcy.) 


(From 


fa9ades,  generally  consisting  of  two  or  more  columns  between  pilasters, 
1  "  Voyage  dans  la  Marmarique,  la  Cyrenaique,  etc."    Didot,  Paris,  1827-29. 


358 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


like  the  grottoes  of  Beni  Hassan,  or  the  Tomb  of  St.  James  at  Jeru- 
salem.   Many  of  them  show  powerful  evidence  of  Greek  taste,  while 

some  may  be  as  old  as  the 
Grecian  era,  though  the  greater 
part  are  undoubtedly  of  Roman 
date,  and  the  paintings  with 
which  many  of  them  are  still 
adorned  are  certainly  Roman 
in  design.  Two  of  them  are 
illustrated  by  Woodcuts  Nos. 
165  and  166;  one  as  show- 
ing more  distinct  evidence  of 
Greek  taste  and  color  than 
is  to  be  found  elsewhere,  though  it  is  doubtful  if  it  belongs  to  the 
Grecian  period  any  more  than  the  so-called  Tomb  of  St.  James  at 
Jerusalem  ;  the  other,  thougli  of  equally  uncertain  date,  is  interesting 
as  being  a  circular  monument  built  over  a  cave  like  that  at  Amrith 
Woodcut  (No.  120),  and  is  tlie  only  other  example  now  known.  None 
of  them  have  such  splendid  architectural  facades  as  the  Khasne  at 
Petra ;  but  the  number  of  tombs  which  are  adorned  with  architectural 
features  is  greater  than  in  that  city,  and,  grouped  as  they  are 
together  in  terraces  on  the  hill-side,  they  constitute  a  necropolis 
which  is  among  the  most  striking  of  the  ancient  world.  Altogethe; 
this  group,  though  somewhat  resembling  that  at  Castel  d'Asso,  is  more 
extensive  and  far  richer  in  external  architecture.^ 


240.   ra9ade  of  the  Tomb  of  the  Judges. 


Time  has  not  left  us  any  perfect  structural  tombs  in  all  these 
places,  though  there  can  be  little  doubt  but  they  were  once  numerous. 
Almost  the  only  tomb  of  this  class  constructed  in  masonry  known  to 
exist,  and  which  in  many  respects  is  perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  all, 
is  found  in  Asia  Minor,  at  Mylassa  in  Caria.  In  form  it  is  something 
like  the  free-standing  rock-cut  examples  at  Jerusalem.  As  shown  in 
the  woodcut  (No.  241),  it  consists  of  a  square  base,  which  supports 
twelve  columns,  of  which  the  eight  inner  ones  support  a  dome,  the 
outer  four  merely  completing  the  square.  The  dome  itself  is  con- 
structed in  the  same  manner  as  all  the  Jaina  domes  are  in  India  (as 
will  be  explained  hereafter  when  describing  that  style),  and,  thougli 
ornamented  with  Roman  details,  is  so  unlike  anything  else  ever  built 
by  that  people,  and  is  so  completely  and  perfectly  what  we  find 


^  Though  the  dates  of  all  these  tombs 
at  Cyrene  are  so  uncertain,  there  seems 
little  doubt  that  if  any  one  thoroughly 
versed  in  the  style  were  to  visit  the 
place,  he  could  fix  the  age  of  all  of  them 
with  approximate  correctness.    The  one 


difficulty  is,  that  a  chronometric  scale 
taken  from  the  buildings  at  Rome,  or 
even  in  Syria,  will  not  suffice.  Local 
peculiarities  must  be  taken  into  account 
and  allowed  for,  and  this  requires  both 
time  and  judgment. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V.  TOMBS.  359 

reappearing  ten  centuries  afterwards  in  tlie  far  East,  that  we  are 
forced  to  conclude  that  it  belongs  to  a  style  once  prevalent  and  long 
fixed  in  these  lands,  though  this  one  now  stands  as  the  sole  remaining 
representative  of  its  class. 


241.   Tomb  at  Mylassa.   (From  "Antiquities  of  Ionia/'  published  by  the  Dilettanti  Society.) 

Another  example,  somewhat  similar  in  style,  though  remotely  dis- 
tant in  locality,  is  found  at  Dugga,  near  Tunis,  in  Africa.  This,  too, 
consists  of  a  square  base,  taller  than  in  the  last  example,  surmounted 
by  twelve  Ionic  columns,  which  are  here  merely  used  as  ornaments. 
There  were  probably  square  pilasters  at  the  angles,  like  that  at 
Jerusalem  (Woodcuts  Nos.  237,  238),  while  the  Egyptian  form  of 
the  cornice  is  similar  to  that  found  in  these  examples,  though  with 
the  omission  of  the  Doric  frieze. 

It  apparently  originally  terminated  in  a  pyramid  of  steps  like  the 
Mausoleum  at  Halicarnassus,  and  a  large  number  of  structural  tombs 
which  copied  that  celebrated  model.  Nothing  of  this  now  remains 
but  the  four  corner-stones,  which  were  architecturally  most  essential  to 


360 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Taut  I. 


accentuate  the  weak  lines  of  a  sloping  pyramid  in  such  a  situation. 
Taken  altogether,  perhaps  no  more  graceful  monument  of  its  class 

has  come  down  to 
jBj\  our  days  than  this 


them  forming  a  cross,  which  has  consequently  been  assumed  to  be  the 
Christian  symbol.  The  building  itself,  which  is  circular,  and  as 
nearly  as  may  be  200  ft.  in  diameter,  stands  on  a  square  platform 
measuring  210  ft.  The  perpendicular  part  is  ornamented  by  60 
engaged  columns  of  the  Tonic  order,  and  by  the  four  false  doors 
just  mentioned  ;  above  this  rose  a  cone  —  apparently  in  40  steps  — 
making  tlie  total  height  about  130  ft.  It  is,  however,  so  ruined 
that  it  is  very  difficult  to  feel  sure  about  its  exact  dimensions  or 
form. 

From  objects  and  scribblings  of  various  kinds  found  in  the  in- 
terior, it  appears  to  have  remained  open  till  nearly  the  time  of  the 
Moslem  conquest,  but  shortly  afterwards  to  have  been  closed,  and  to 
have  defied  all  the  ingenuity  of  explorers  till  a  passage  was  forced  in 
1866  by  Messrs.  MacCarthy  and  Berbrugger,  acting  under  the  orders 
and  at  the  expense  of  the  late  Emperor  Napoleon  HI.  ^   The  entrance 


'  "  Le  Tombeau  de  la  Cliretienne,"  par  A.  Berbrugger,  Alger,  1867,  from  which, 
the  above  particulars  are  taken. 


Besides  these  there 
are  in  Algeria  two 
tombs  of  very  great 
interest,  both  from 
their  size  and  the 
peculiarity  of  their 
forms.  The  best 
known  is  that  on  the 
coast  a  short  dis- 
tance from  Algiers 
to  the  westward.  It 
is  generally  known 
as  the  Kubr  Rou- 
meia,  or  Tomb  of 
the  Christian  Virgin 
—  a  name  it  acquired 
from  its  having  four 
false  doors,  each  of  a 
single  stone  divided 
into  four  panels,  and. 
the    stile  between 


must  have  been  when 
complete. 


242.    Tomb  at  Diigga.    (From  a  drawing  by  F.  Calherwood.) 


361 


TOMBS. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


was  found  passing  under  the  sill  of  the  false  door  on  the  cast  from 
a  detached  building  standing  outside  the  platform,  and  which  seems 


to  have  been  originally  constructed  to  cover  and  protect  the  entrance. 
From  this  a  winding  passage,  560  ft.  in  length,  led  to  the  central 
chamber  where  it  is  assumed  the  royal  bodies  were  once  deposited, 
but  when  opened  no  trace  of  them  remained,  nor  anything  to  indicate 
who  they  were,  nor  in  what  manner  they  were  buried. 


The  other  tomb,  the  Madracen,  is  very  similar  to  this  one,  but 
smaller.    Its  peristyle  is  of  a  sort  of  Doric  order,  without  bases,  and 


3G2 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


surmounted  by  a  quasi-Egyptian  cornice,  not  unlike  that  on  the 
Tomb  of  Absalom  at  Jerusalem  (Woodcut  No.  239),  or  that  at 
Dugga  (Woodcut  No.  242).  Altogether  its  details  are  more  elegant, 
and  from  their  general  character  there  seems  no  reason  for  doubting 
that  this  tomb  is  older  than  the  Kubr  Roumeia,  though  they  are  so 
similar  to  each  other  that  tlieir  dates  cannot  be  far  distant.^ 

There  seems  almost  no  reason  for  doubting  that  the  Kubr  Roumeia 
was  the  "  Monumentum  conmiune  Regise  gentis  "  mentioned  by  Pom- 
ponius  Mela,  2  about  the  middle  of  the  first  century  of  our  era,  and  if 
so,  this  could  only  apply  to  the  dynasty  that  expired  with  Juba  II., 
A.  D.  23,  and  in  that  case  the  oldest  monument  most  probably  belonged 
to  the  previous  dynasty,  which  ceased  to  reign  with  Bocchus  III.,  33 
years  before  the  birth  of  Christ. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  points  connected  with  these  Mauri- 
tanian  tombs  is  their  curious  similarity  to  that  of  Hadrian  at  Rome. 
The  square  base,  the  circular  colonnade,  the  conical  roof,  are  all  the 
same.  At  Rome  they  are  very  much  drawn  out  of  course,  but  that 
arose  from  the  "  Mole  "  being  situated  among  tall  objects  in  a  town, 
and  more  than  even  that,  perhaps,  from  the  tendency  towards  height 
whicli  manifested  itself  so  strongly  in  the  architecture  of  that 
age. 

The  greatest  similarity,  however,  exists  in  the  interior.  The  long 
winding  corridor  terminating  in  an  oblong  apartment  in  the  centre  is 
an  identical  feature  in  both,  but  has  not  yet  been  traced  elsewhere, 
though  it  can  be  liardly  doubted  that  it  must  have  existed  in  many 
other  examples. 

If  we  add  to  these  the  cenotaph  at  St.  Remi  (Woodcut  No.  230), 
we  have  a  series  of  monuments  of  the  same  type  extending  over  400 
years ;  and,  though  many  more  are  wanted  before  we  can  fill  up  the 
gaps  and  complete  the  series,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
missing  links  once  existed  which  connected  them  together.  Beyond 
this  we  may  go  still  further  back  to  the  Etruscan  tumuli  and  the 
simple  mounds  of  earth  on  the  Tartar  steppes.  At  the  other  end  of 
the  series  we  are  evidently  approaching  the  verge  of  the  towers  and 
steeples  of  Christian  art ;  and,  though  it  may  seem  the  wildest  of 
hy])otheses  to  assert  that  the  design  of  the  spire  of  Strasbourg  grew 
out  of  the  mound  of  Alyattes,  it  is  nevertheless  true,  and  it  is 
only  non-apparent  because  so  many  of  the  steps  in  the  progress 
from  the  one  to  the  other  have  disappeared  in  the  convulsions  of 
the  interval. 


1  It  is  understood  that  it,  too,  has 
been  explored,  but  no  account  of  the  re- 
sult has  yet  reached  this  country,  and 
such  runiors  as  have  readied  are  too 


vague  to  be  quoted.  Even  its  dimen- 
sions are  not  known. 

•2  "De  Situ  Orbis,"  I.  vi.  p.  38,  edit. 
Leyden,  1748. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


DOMESTIC  ARCHITECTURE. 


363 


Domestic  Architectuee. 

We  know,  not  only  from  the  descriptions  and  incidental  notices 
that  have  come  down  to  us,  but  also  from  the  remains  found  at 
Pompeii  and  elsewhere,  that  the  private  dwellings  of  the  Romans  were 
characterized  by  that  magnificence  and  splendor  which  we  find  in  all 
their  works,  accompanied,  probably,  with  more  than  the  usual  amount 
of  bad  taste. 

In  Rome  itself  no  ancient  house  —  indeed  no  trace  of  a  domestic 
edifice  —  exists  except  the  Palace  of  the  Caesars  on  the  Palatine  Mount; 
and  this  even  is  now  merely  a  congeries  of  shapeless  ruins,  so  com- 
pletely destroyed  as  to  have  defied  even  the  most  imaginative  of 
restorers  to  make  much  of  it  except  a  vehicle  for  the  display  of 
his  own  ingenuity.  The  extent  of  these  ruins,  coupled  with  the 
descriptions  that  have  been  preserved,  sufiice  to  convince  us  that,  of 
all  the  palaces  ever  built,  either  in  the  East  or  the  West,  this  was 
probably  the  most  magnificent  and  the  most  gorgeously  adorned. 
Never  in  the  world's  history  does  it  appear  that  so  much  wealth  and 
power  were  at  the  command  of  one  man  as  was  the  case  with  the 
Caesars ;  and  never  could  the  world's  wealth  have  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  men  more  inclined  to  lavish  it  for  their  own  personal 
gratification  than  these  emperors  were.  They  could,  moreover, 
ransack  the  whole  world  for  plunder  to  adorn  their  buildings,  and 
could  command  the  best  artists  of  Greece,  and  of  all  the  subject 
kingdoms,  to  assist  in  rendering  their  golden  palaces  the  most  gor- 
geous that  the  world  had  then  seen,  or  is  likely  soon  to  see  again. 
The  whole  area  of  the  palace  may  roughly  be  described  as  a  square 
platform  measuring  1500  ft.  east  and  west,  with  a  mean  breadth  of 
1300  ft.  in  the  opposite  direction.  Owing,  however,  to  its  deeply 
indented  and  irregular  outline,  it  hardly  covers  more  ground  than 
the  Baths  of  Caracalla. 

Recent  excavations  have  laid  bare  nearly  the  whole  of  the  western 
portion  of  this  area,  and  have  disclosed  the  plan  of  the  building,  but 
all  has  been  so  completely  destroyed  that  it  requires  considerable 
skill  and  imagination  to  reinstate  it  in  its  previous  form.  The  one 
part  that  remains  tolerably  perfect  is  the  so-called  house  of  Livia, 
the  wife  of  Augustus,  who  is  said  to  have  lived  in  it  after  the  death 
of  her  husband.  In  dimensions  and  arrangement  it  is  not  unlike  the 
best  class  of  Pompeian  houses,  but  its  paintings  and  decorations  are 
very  superior  to  anything  found  in  that  city.  They  are,  in  fact,  as 
might  be  expected  from  their  age  and  position,  the  finest  mural 
decorations  that  have  come  down  to  us,  and  as  they  are  still  wonder- 
fully perfect,  they  give  a  very  high  idea  of  the  perfection  of  art 
attained  in  the  Augustan  age,  to  which  they  certainly  belong. 


364 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I, 


That  part  of  the  palace  on  the  Palatine  which  most  impresses  the 
visitor  is  the  eastern  half,  which  looks  on  one  hand  to  the  Amphi- 
theatre, on  the  other  to  the  Baths  of  Caracalla,  and  overhangs  the 
Circus  Maximius.  Though  all  their  marble  or  painted  decorations 
are  gone,  the  enormous  masses  of  masonry  which  here  exist  convey- 
that  impression  of  grandeur  which  is  generally  found  in  Roman 
works.  It  is  not  of  Esthetic  beauty  arising  from  ornamental  or 
ornamented  construction,  but  the  Technic  expression  of  power  and 
greatness  ai*ising  from  mass  and  stability.  It  is  the  same  feeling 
with  which  we  contemplate  the  aqueducts  and  engineering  works  of 
this  great  people ;  and,  though  not  of  the  highest  class,  few  scenes 
of  architectural  grandeur  are  more  impressive  than  the  now  ruined 
Palace  of  the  Caesars. 

Notwithstanding  all  this  splendor,  this  palace  was  probably  as  an 
architectural  object  inferior  to  the  Thermae.  The  thousand  and  one 
exigencies  of  private  life  render  it  impossible  to  impart  to  a  residence 
— even  to  that  of  the  world's  master  —  the  same  character  of  grandeur 
as  may  be  given  to  a  building  wholly  devoted  to  show  and  public 
purposes.  In  its  glory  the  Palace  of  the  Caesars  must  have  been  the 
world's  wonder ;  but  as  a  ruin  deprived  of  its  furniture  and  ephemeral 
splendor,  it  loses  much  that  would  tend  to  make  it  either  pleasing 
or  instructive.  We  nmst  not  look  for  either  beauty  of  proportion  or 
perfection  of  construction,  nor  even  for  appropriateness  of  material,  in 
the  hastily  constructed  halls  of  men  whose  unbounded  power  was  only 
equalled  by  the  coarse  vulgarity  of  their  characters. 

Spalatro. 

The  only  palace  of  the  Roman  world  of  which  sufficient  remains 
are  still  left  to  enable  us  to  judge  either  of  its  extent  or  arrange^ 
ments  is  that  which  Diocletian  built  for  himself  at  Spalatro,  in  Dal- 
matia,  and  in  which  he  spent  the  remaining  years  of  his  life,  after 
shaking  off  the  cares  of  empire.  It  certainly  gives  us  a  most  exalted 
idea  of  what  the  splendor  of  the  imperial  palace  at  Rome  must  have 
been  when  we  find  one  emperor  —  certainly  neither  the  richest  nor  the 
most  powerful  —  building,  for  his  retirement,  a  villa  in  the  country 
of  almost  exactly  the  same  dimensions  as  the  Escurial  in  Spain,  and 
consequently  surpassing  in  size,  as  it  did  in  magnificence,  most  of  the 
modern  palaces  of  Europe. 

It  is  uncertain  how  far  it  resembles  or  was  copied  from  that  in 
Rome,  more  especially  as  it  must  be  regarded  as  a  fortified  palace, 
which  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  at  Rome  was,  while  its  model 
would  seem  to  have  been  the  praetorian  camp  rather  than  any  habita- 
tion built  within  the  protection  of  the  city  walls.    In  consequence  of 


Bk.  IV.  Cii.  V. 


DOMESTIC  ARCIIITECTURE. 


3G5 


this  its  exterior  is  plain  and  solid,  except  on  the  side  next  the  sea, 
where  it  was  least  liable  to  attack.  The  other  three  sides  arc  only 
broken  by  the  towers  that  flank  them,  and  by  those  that  defend  the 
great  gates  which  open  in  tlie  centre  of  each  face. 


Scale  150  ft.  to  1  in. 
245.   Palace  of  Diocletian  at  Spalatro.   (From  Adams.) 

The  building  is  nearly  a  regular  parallelogram,  though  not  quite 
so.  The  south  side  is  that  facing  the  sea,  and  is  592  ft.  from  angle  to 
angle  ;  the  one  opposite  being  only  -570  in  length  ;  i  while  the  east  and 
west  sides  measure  each  698  ft.,  the  whole  building  thus  covering 
about  9^  English  acres. 

The  principal  entrance  to  the  palace  is  on  the  north,  and  is  called 


By  an  oversight,  this  difference  is  not  expressed  in  the  woodcut. 


■^^6  ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE.  P^^t  I. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V 


DOMESTIC  ARCHITECTURE. 


367 


the  Golden  Gate,  and,  as  represented  in  the  annexed  woodcut  (No.  246) 
shows  all  the  peculiarities  of  Roman  architecture  in  its  last  stage. 
The  horizontal  architrave  still  remains  over  the  doorway,  a  useless 
ornament,  under  a  bold  discliarging  arch,  which  usurps  its  place  and 
does  its  duty.  Above  this,  a  row  of  Corinthian  columns,  standing  on 
brackets,  once  supported  the  archivolts  of  a  range  of  niches  —  a  piece 
of  pleasing  decoration,  it  must  be  confessed,  but  one  in  which  the 
original  purpose  of  the  column  has  been  entirely  overlooked  or 
forgotten. 

Entering  this  portal,  we  pass  along  a  street  ornamented  with 
arcades  on  either  side,  till  exactly  in  the  centre  of  the  building  this 
is  crossed  at  right  angles  by  another  similar  street,  proceeding  from 
the  so-called  Iron  and  Brazen  Gates,  which  are  similar  to  the  Golden 
Gate  in  design,  but  are  far  less  richly  ornamented. 

These  streets  divided  the  building  into  four  portions :  those  to  the 
north  are  so  much  ruined  that  it  is  not  now  easy  to  trace  their  plan, 
or  to  say  to  what  purpose  they  were  dedicated ;  but  probably  the  one 
might  have  been  the  lodgings  of  the  guests,  the  other  the  residence  of 
the  principal  officers  of  the  household. 

The  whole  of  the  southern  half  of  the  building  was  devoted  to  the 
palace  properly  so  called.  It  contained  two  temples,  as  they  are  now 
desio-nated.  That  on  the  ris^ht  is  said  to  have  been  dedicated  to 
Jupiter,  though  judging  from  its  form,  it  would  appear  to  have 
been  designed  rather  as  the  mausoleum  of  the  founder  than  as  a 
temple  of  that  god.  On  the  assumption  that  it  was  a  temple  it  has 
been  illustrated  at  a  previous  page.i  Opposite  to  it  is  another  small 
temple,  dedicated,  it  is  said  to  ^sculapius. 

Between  these  two  is  the  arcade  represented  in  Woodcut  No.  185, 
at  the  upper  end  of  which  is  the  vestibule  —  circular,  as  all  buildings 
dedicated  to  Vesta,  or  taking  their  name  from  that  goddess,  should 
be.  This  opened  directly  on  to  a  magnificent  suite  of  nine  apart- 
ments, occupying  the  principal  part  of  the  south  front  of  the  palace. 
Beyond  these,  on  the  right  hand,  were  the  private  apartments  of  the 
emperor,  and  behind  them  his  baths.  The  opposite  side  is  restored 
as  if  it  exactly  corresponded,  but  this  is  more  than  doubtful ;  and, 
indeed  there  is  scarcely  sufficient  authority  for  many  of  the  details 
shown  in  the  plan,  though  they  are,  probably,  on  the  whole,  suf- 
ficiently exact  to  convey  a  general  idea  of  the  arrangements  of  a 
Roman  Imperial  palace. 

Perhaps,  however,  the  most  splendid  feature  in  this  palace  was  the 
great  southern  gallery,  515  ft.  in  length  by  24  in  width,  extending 
along  the  whole  seaward  face  of  the  building.  Besides  its  own  in- 
trinsic beauty  as  an  architectural  feature,  it  evinces  an  appreciation 


1  See  p.  312. 


368 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1. 


of  the  beauties  of  nature  which  one  would  hardly  expect  in  a 
Roirian.  This  great  arcade  is  the  principal  feature  in  the  whole 
design  and  commands  a  view  well  worthy  the  erection  of  such  a 
gallery  for  its  complete  enjoyment. 

\ 

Pompeii  and  Herculaneum. 

Failing  to  discover  any  example  of  domestic  architecture  in  Rome, 
we  return  to  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum,  where  we  find  numerous  and 
most  interesting  examples  of  houses  of  all  classes,  except,  perhaps, 
the  best ;  for  there  is  nothing  there  to  compare  with  the  Laurentian 
villa  of  Pliny,  or  with  some  others  of  which  descriptions  have  come 
down  to  us.  Pompeii,  moreover,  was  far  more  a  Grecian  than  a  Roman 
city,  and  its  buildings  ought  to  be  considered  rather  as  illustrative  of 
those  of  Greece,  or  at  least  of  Magna  Graecia,  than  of  anything  found 
to  the  northward.  Still  these  cities  belonged  to  the  Roman  age,  and 
except  in  taste  and  in  minor  arrangements,  we  have  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  the  buildings  did  resemble  those  of  Rome,  at  least  to  a 
sufficient  extent  for  illustration. 

With  scarcely  an  exception,  all  the  houses  of  Pompeii  were  of  one 
story  only  in  lieight.  It  is  true  that  in  some  we  find  staircases 
leading  to  the  roof,  and  traces  of  an  upper  story,  but  where  this 
latter  is  the  case  the  apartments  would  appear  to  have  been  places  for 
washing  and  drying  clothes,  or  for  some  such  domestic  purpose  rather 
than  for  living  or  even  sleeping  rooms.  All  the  principal  apartments 
were  certainly  on  the  ground  floor,  and  an  almost  inevitable  corollary 
from  this,  they  all  faced  inwards,  and  were  lighted  from  courtyards  or 
atria^  and  not  from  the  outside ;  for,  with  a  people  who  had  not  glass 
with  which  to  glaze  their  windows,  it  was  impossible  to  enjoy  privacy 
or  security  without  at  the  same  time  excluding  both  light  and  air, 
otherwise  than  by  lighting  their  rooms  from  the  interior.  Hence  it 
arose  that  in  most  instances  the  outside  of  the  better  class  of  houses 
was  given  up  to  shops  and  smaller  dwellings,  which  opened  on  to  the 
street,  while  the  residence,  with  the  exception  of  the  principal  entrance, 
and  sometimes  one  or  two  private  doors  that  opened  outwards,  was 
wholly  hidden  from  view  by  their  entourage. 

Even  in  the  smallest  class  of  tradesman's  houses  which  opened  on 
the  street,  one  apartment  seems  always  to  have  been  left  unroofed  to 
light  at  least  two  rooms  on  each  side  of  it,  used  as  bedrooms ;  but  as 
the  roofs  of  all  are  now  gone,  it  is  not  always  easy  to  determine 
which  were  so  treated. 

It  is  certain  that,  in  the  smallest  houses  which  can  have  belonged 
to  persons  at  all  above  the  class  of  shopkeepers,  there  was  always  a 
central  apartment,  unroofed  in  the  centre,  into  which  the  others 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  V. 


DOMESTIC  ARCHITECTURE. 


369 


opened.  Sometimes  this  was  covered  by  two  beams  placed  in  one 
direction,  and  two  crossing  them  at  riglit  angles,  framing  the  roof 
into  nine  compartments,  generally  of  unequal  dimensions,  the  central 
one  being  open,  and  with  a  corresponding  sinking  in  the  floor  to 
receive  the  rain  and  drainage  which  inevitably  came  through  it. 
When  this  court  was  of  any  extent,  four  pillars  were  required  at 
the  intersection  of  the  beams,  or  angles  of  the  opening,  to  support 
the  roof.  In  larger  courts,  eight,  twelve,  sixteen,  or  more  columns 
Avere  so  employed,  often  apparently  more  as  decorative  objects  than 
as  required  by  the  constructive  necessities  of  the  case,  and  very 
frequently  the  number  of  these  on  either  side  of  the  apartment 
did  not  correspond.  Frequently  the  angles  were  not  right  angles, 
and  the  ])illars  were  placed  unequally  with  a  careless  disregard  of 
symmetry  that  strikes  us  as  strange,  though  in  such  cases  this  may 
have  been  preferable  to  cold  and  formal  regularity,  and  even  more 
])roductive  of  grace  and  beauty.  Besides  these  courts,  there  generally 
existed  in  the  rear  of  the  house  another  bounded  by  a  dead  wall  at 
the  further  extremity,  and  which  in 
the  smaller  houses  was  ])ainted,  to  re- 
semble tlie  garden  Avliicli  the  larger 
mansions  |)ossessed  in  tliis  direction. 
The  apartments  looking  on  this  court 
were  of  course  perfectly  private,  wliicli 
cannot  be  said  of  any  of  those  looking 
inwards  on  the  atrium. 

The  house  called  that  of  Pansa  at 
Pompeii  is  a  good  illustration  of  tliese 
l)eculiarities,  and,  as  one  of  the  most 
regular,  has  been  frequently  chosen  for 
the  purpose  of  illustration. 

In  the  annexed  plan  (Woodcut  No. 
247)  all  the  parts  that  do  not  belong 
to  the  principal  mansion  are  shaded 
darker  except  the  doubtful  part  marked 
A,  which  may  either  have  been  a  sepa- 
rate house,  or  the  women's  apartments 
belonging  to  the  principal  one,  or,  Avhat 
is  even  more  probable,  it  may  have  been 
designed  so  as  to  be  used  for  either 
purpose.    B  is  certainly  a  separate 
house,  and  the  whole  of  the  remainder 
of  this  side,  of  the  front,  and  of  the  third  side,  till  we  come  opposite 
to  A,  was  let  off  as  shops.    At  c  Ave  have  the  kitchen  and  servants' 
apartments,  with  a  private  entrance  to  the  street,  and  an  opening 
also  to  the  principal  peristyle  of  the  house. 
VOL.  I. —  24 


247.    House  of  Pansa  at  Pompeii. 

(From  Gell's  "Pompeii.") 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  iu. 


370  ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE.  Part  I. 

Returning  to  the  principal  entrance  or  front  door  d,  you  enter 
through  a  sliort  passage  into  the  outer  court  e,  on  each  side  of  whicli 
are  several  small  apartments,  used  either  by  the  inferior  members  of 
the  household  or  by  guests.  A  wider  passage  than  the  entrance  leads 
from  this  to  the  peristyle,  or  principal  apartment  of  the  house.  On 
the  left  hand  are  several  small  rooms,  used  no  doubt  as  sleeping 
apartments,  which  were  probably  closed  by  half-doors  open  above  and 
below,  so  as  to  admit  air  and  light,  while  preserving  sufficient  privacy, 
for  Roman  tastes  at  least.  In  front  and  on  the  right  hand  are  two 
larger  rooms,  either  of  which  may  have  been  the  triclinium  or  dining- 
room,  the  other  being  what  we  should  call  the  drawing-room  of  the 
house.  A  passage  between  the  kitchen  and  the  central  room  leads  to 
a  verandah,  which  crosses  the  whole  length  of  the  house,  and  is  open, 
to  the  garden  beyond. 

As  will  be  observed,  architectural  effect  has  been  carefully  studied 
in  this  design,  a  vista  nearly  300  ft.  in  length  being  obtained  from  the 
outer  door  to  the  garden  wall,  varied  by  a  pleasing  play  of  light  and 
shade,  and  displaying  a  gradually  increasing  degree  of  spaciousness 
and  architectural  ricliness  as  we  advance.  All  these  points  must  have 
been  productive  of  tlie  most  pleasing  effect  when  complete,  and  of 
more  beauty  than  has  been  attained  in  almost  any  modern  dwelling 
of  like  dimensions. 

Generally  speaking,  the  architectural  details  of  the  Pompeian  houses 
are  carelessly  and  ungracefully  moulded,  though  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  sometimes  a  certain  elegance  of  feeling  runs  through  them  that 
pleases  in  si)ite  of  our  better  judgment.  It  was  not,  however,  on  form 
that  they  depended  for  their  effect ;  and  consequently  it  is  not  by  that 
that  they  must  be  judged.  The  whole  architecture  of  the  house  was 
colored,  but  even  this  was  not  considered  so  important  as  the  paintings 
which  covered  the  flat  surfaces  of  the  Avails.  Comparing  the  Pompeian 
decoration  with  that  of  the  baths  of  Titus,  and  those  of  the  House  of 
Livia,  the  only  specimens  of  the  same  age  and  class  found  in  Rome,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  the  Pompeian  examples  show  an  equally  correct 
taste,  not  only  in  the  choice  but  in  the  application  of  the  ornaments 
used,  though  in  the  execution  there  is  generally  that  difference  that 
might  be  expected  between  paintings  executed  for  a  private  individual 
and  those  for  the  Emperor  of  the  Roman  Avorld.  Notwithstanding 
this,  these  paintings,  so  wonderfully  preserved  in  this  small  provincial 
town,  are  even  now  among  the  best  specimens  we  possess  of  mural 
decoration.  They  excel  the  ornamentation  of  the  Alhambra,  as  being- 
more  varied  and  more  intellectual.  For  the  same  reason  they  are 
superior  to  the  works  of  the  same  class  executed  by  the  Moslems  in 
Egypt  and  Persia,  and  they  are  far  superior  to  the  rude  attempts  of 
the  Gothic  architects  in  the  Middle  Ages ;  still  they  are  probably  as 
inferior  to  what  the  Greeks  did  in  their  best  days  as  the  pillars  of  the 


Bk.  IV.  Cii.  V. 


DOMESTIC  ARCIIITECTUIIE. 


371 


Ponipeian  peristyles  are  to  the  porticoes  of  the  Parthenon.  But  though 
doubtless  far  inferior  to  their  originals,  those  at  Pompeii  are  direct 
imitations  of  true  Greek  decorative  forms;  and  it  is  through  them 
alone  that  we  can  form  even  the  most  remote  idea  of  the  exquisite 
beauty  to  which  polychromatic  architecture  once  attained,  but  which 
we  can  scarcely  venture  to  hope  it  will  ever  reach  again. 

One  curious  point  which  has  hitherto  been  too  much  overlooked 
is,  that  in  Pom})eii  there  are  two  perfectly  distinct  styles  of  decoration. 


248.   Wall  Decoration  at  Pompeii.    (From  Rosengarten.) 


One  of  these  is  purely  Etruscan,  both  in  form  and  color,  and  such  as 
is  only  found  in  the  tombs  or  on  the  authentic  works  of  the  Etruscans. 
The  other  is  no  less  essentially  Greek,  both  in  design  and  color  ;  it  is 
far  more  common  than  the  Etruscan  form,  and  is  ahvays  easily  to  be 
distinguished  from  it.  The  last-mentioned  or  Greek  style  of  decoration, 
may  be  again  divided  into  two  varieties ;  one,  the  most  common,  con- 
sisting of  ornaments  directly  copied  from  Greek  models  ;  the  other  with 
a  considerable  infusion  of  Roman  forms.  This  Romanized  variety  of 
Greek  decoration  represents  an  attenuated  and  lean  style  of  architecture, 


372 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


wliich  could  only  Imve  come  into  fashion  from  the  continued  use  of  iron 
or  bronze,  or  other  metallic  substances,  for  pillars  and  other  archi- 
tectural members.  Vitruvius  reprobates  it ;  and  in  a  later  age  Cassio- 
(lorus  speaks  of  it  in  a  manner  which  shows  that  it  was  practised  in  his 
time.  The  general  ado})tion  of  this  class  of  ornament,  botli  at  Pompeii 
and  in  the  baths  at  Titus,  proves  it  to  have  been  a  very  favorite  style 
at  that  time.  This  being  the  case,  it  must  have  either  been  the  repre- 
sentation of  metallic  pillars  and  other  architectural  objects  then  in  use, 
or  it  ]nust  have  been  copied  from  painted  decorations.  This  is  a  new 
subject  and  cannot  be  made  clear,  except  at  considerable  length  and 
with  the  assistance  of  many  drawings.  It  seems,  however,  an  almost 
undoubted  fact  that  the  Romans  did  use  metal  as  a  constractive 
material.  Were  it  only  that  columns  of  extreme  tenuity  are  repre- 
sented in  these  paintings,  we  might  be  inclined  to  ascribe  it  to  mere 
incorrect  drawing;  but  the  whole  style  of  ornament  here  shown  is 
such  as  is  never  found  in  stone  or  brick  j)illars,  and  which  is  only 
susceptible  of  execution  in  metal.  Besides  this,  the  pillars  in  question 
are  always  shown  in  the  decorations  as  though  simply  gilt  or  bronzed, 
while  the  representations  of  stone  pillars  are  colored.  All  this  evidence 
goes  to  prove  that  a  style  of  art  once  existed  in  wliich  metal  was  gene- 
rally employed  in  all  the  ])rinci})al  features,  all  material  traces  of 
which  are  now  lost.  The  disapi)earance  of  all  remains  of  such  a  style 
is  easily  accounted  for  by  the  ])erishable  nature  of  iron  from  rust,  and 
the  value  and  consequent  peculation  induced  by  bronze  and  similar 
metals.  We  are,  moreover,  aware  that  much  bronze  has  been  stolen, 
even  in  recent  days,  fi-om  the  Pantheon  and  other  buildings  which  are 
known  to  have  been  adorned  with  it. 

Another  thing  which  we  learn  from  these  paintings  is,  that  though 
the  necessities  of  street  arcliitecture  compelled  these  city  mansions  to 
take  a  rectilinear  outline,  Avhene\'er  the  Roman  architects  built  in  the 
country  they  indulged  in  a  picturesque  variety  of  outline  and  of  form 
which  they  carried  perhaps  as  far  as  even  the  Gothic  architects  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  This  indeed  we  might  have  expected,  from  their  care- 
lessness in  respect  to  regularity  in  their  town-houses;  but  these  were 
interiors,  and,  were  it  not  for  the  painted  representations  of  houses  we 
should  have  no  means  of  judging  how^  the  same  architects  would  treat 
an  exterior  in  the  country.  From  this  source,  however,  we  learn  that 
in  the  exterior  arrangements,  in  situations  where  they  were  not 
cramped  by  confined  s])ace,  their  plans  were  totally  free  from  all  stiff- 
ness and  formality.  In  this  resi)ect  Roman  taste  coincided  Avith  that 
of  all  true  architecture  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Each  part  of  the  design  was  left  to  tell  its  own  tale  and  to  express 
the  use  to  which  each  apartment  was  applied  though  the  Avhole  were 
probably  grouped  together  with  some  reference  to  symmetry.  There 
is  certainly  nothing  in  these  ancient  examples  to  justify  the  precise 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  Y. 


BRIDGES  AND  AQUEDUCTS. 


373 


regularity  which  the  arcliitects  of  the  Renaissance  introduced  into 
their  classical  designs,  in  which  they  sought  to  obliterate  all  distinction 
between  the  component  parts  in  a  vain  attempt  to  make  one  great 
whole  out  of  a  great  number  of  small  discordant  fragments. 

Bridges  and  Aqueducts. 

Perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  works  of  the  Romans  are  those  which 
we  consider  as  belonging  to  civil  engineering  rather  than  to  archi- 
tecture. The  distinction,  however,  was  not  known  in  those  earlier 
days.  The  Romans  set  about  works  pf  this  class  w^ith  a  purpose-like 
earnestness  that  always  ensures  success,  and  executed  them  on  a  scale 
which  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired ;  while  at  the  same  time  they 
entirely  avoided  that  vulgarity  which  their  want  of  refinement  allowed 
almost  inevitably  to  appear  in  more  delicate  or  more  ornate  buildings. 
Their  engineering  works  also  were  free  from  that  degree  of  incom- 
pleteness which  is  inseparable  from  the  state  of  transition  in  which 
their  architecture  was  during  the  whole  period  of  the  Empire.  It  is 
owing  to  these  causes  that  the  substructions  of  the  Appian  Way  strike 
every  beholder  with  admiration  and  astonishment ;  and  nothing 
impresses  the  traveller  more,  on  visiting  the  once  imperial  city,  than 
tlie  long  lines  of  aqueducts  that  are  seen  everywhere  stretching  across 
tlie  now  deserted  j^lain  of  the  Campagna.  It  is  true  they  are  mere 
lines  of  brick  arches,  devoid  of  ornament  and  of  every  attempt  at 
architecture  proi)erly  so  called :  but  they  are  so  well  adapted  to  the 
purpose  for  which  they  were  designed,  so  grand  in  conception,  and 
so  perfect  in  execution,  that,  in  spite  of  their  want  of  architectural 
character,  they  are  among  the  most  beautiful  of  the  remains  of  Roman 
buildings. 

The  aqueducts  were  not,  however,  all  so  devoid  of  ai'chitectural 
designs  as  those  of  the  Campagna.  That,  for  instance,  known  as  the 
Pont  du  Gard,  built  to  convey  water  to  the  town  of  Nimes  in  France, 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  works  of  antiquity.  Its  height  above  the 
sti-eam  is  about  180  ft.,  divided  into  two  tiers  of  larger  arches  sur- 
mounted by  a  range  of  smaller  ones,  giving  the  structure  the  same 
finish  and  effect  that  an  entablature  and  cornice  gives  to  a  long  range 
of  columns.  Without  the  introduction  of  one  single  ornament,  or  of 
any  member  that  was  not  absolutely  wanted,  this  arrangement  converts 
what  is  a  mere  utilitarian  work  into  an  architectural  screen  of  a  beauty 
hitherto  unrivalled  in  its  class. 

The  aqueducts  of  Segovia  and  Tarragona  in  Spain,  though  not 
l)erhaps  so  grand,  are  quite  as  elegant  and  appropriate  as  this ;  and  if 
they  stood  across  a  line  of  well  wooded  and  watered  valleys,  might 
form  as  beautiful  objects.  Unfortunately  the  effect  is  much  marred  by 
the  houses  and  other  objects  that  crowd  their  bases.   Both  these  rise  to 


374 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


about  100  ft.  above  the  level  of  their  foundation  in  the  centre.  That  of 
Segovia  is  raised  on  light  piers,  the  effect  of  which  is  perhaps  somewhat 
spoiled  by  numerous  offsets,  and  the  upper  tier  is  if  anything  too  light 
for  the  lower.  These  defects  are  avoided  at  Tarragona,  the  central 
arches  of  which  are  shown  in  Woodcut  No.  250.  In  this  example  the 
proportion  of  the  upper  to  the  lower  arcade  is  more  perfect,  and  the 
whole  bears  a  character  of  lightness  combined  with  constructive 
solidity  and  elegance  unrivalled,  so  far  as  I  know,  in  any  other  work 
of  its  class.  It  wants,  however,  the  grandeur  of  the  Pont  du  Gard  ; 
for  though  its  length  is  about  the  same,  exceeding  800  ft.,  it  has 
neither  its  height  nor  the  impression  of  power  given  by  the  great 
arches  of  that  building,  especially  when  contrasted  with  those  that 
are  smaller. 


The  Roman  bridges  were  designed  on  the  same  grand  scale  as  their 
aqueducts,  though  from  their  nature  they  of  course  could  not  possess 
the  same  grace  and  lightness.  This  was,  however,  more  than  com- 
pensated by  their  inherent  solidity  and  by  the  manifestation  of  strength 
imparted  by  the  Romans  to  all  these  structures.  They  seem  to  have 
been  designed  to  last  for  ever ;  and  but  for  the  violence  of  man,  it 
would  be  hardly  possible  to  set  limits  to  their  durability.  Many  still 
remain  in  almost  every  corner  of  the  Roman  Empire ;  and  wherever 
found  are  easily  recognized  by  the  unmistakable  impress  of  Roman 
grandeur  which  is  stamped  upon  them. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these  is  that  which  Trajan  erected 
at  Alcantara,  in  Spain,  represented  in  the  annexed  woodcut.  The 
roadway  is  perfectly  level,  as  is  generally  the  case  in  Roman  bridges, 
though  the  mode  by  which  this  is  obtained,  of  springing  the  arches 
from  different  levels,  is  perhaps  not  the  most  pleasing.  To  us  at  least 
it  is  unfamiliar,  and  has  never,  I  think,  been  adopted  in  modern  times. 
In  such  a  case  we  should  either  have  made  the  arches  all  equal  —  a 


Bk.  IVo  Ch.  V. 


BRIDGES  AND  AQUEDUCTS. 


375 


viistake  considering  their  different  lieights  —  or  have  built  solidly 
over  the  smaller  arches  to  bring  up  the  level,  which  would  have  been 


251.    Bridge  of  Trajan,  at  Alcantara,  in  Spain. 


a  far  cjreater  error  in  construction  than  the  other  is  in  taste.  The 
bridge  consists  of  six  arches,  the  whole  length  of  the  roadway  being 
650  ft. ;  the  two  central  arches  are  about  100  ft.  span  ;  the  roadway  is 
140  ft.  above  the  level  of  the  stream  which  it  crosses.  The  piers  are 
well  proportioned  and  graceful ;  and  altogether  the  work  is  as  fine  and 
as  tasteful  an  example  of  bridge-building  as  can  be  found  anywhere, 
even  in  these  days  of  engineering  activity. 

The  bridge  which  the  same  Emperor  erected  over  the  Danube  was 
a  far  more  difficult  Avork  in  an  engineering  j^oint  of  view  but  the 
superstructure  being  of  wood,  resting  only  on  stone  piers,  it  would 
necessarily  have  possessed  much  less  architectural  beauty  than  this,  or 
indeed  many  others. 

These  examples  of  tnis  class  of  Roman  works  must  suffice  ;  they  are 
so  typical  of  the  style  that  it  was  impossible  to  omit  them  altogether, 
though  the  subject  scarcely  belongs  in  strictness  to  the  objects  of  this 
work.  The  bridges  and  aqueducts  of  the  Romans  richly  deserve  the 
attention  of  the  architect,  not  only  because  they  nr^  in  fact  the  only 
works  which  the  Romans,  either  from  taste  or  from  social  position, 
were  enabled  to  carry  out  without  affectation,  and  with  all  their 
originality  and  power,  but  also  because  it  was  in  building  these  works 
that  the  Romans  acquired  that  constructive  skill  and  largeness  of 
proportion  which  enabled  them  to  design  and  carry  out  works  of  such 
vast  dimensions,  to  vault  such  spaces,  and  to  give  to  their  buildings 
generally  that  size  and  impress  of  power  which  form  their  chief  and 
frequently  their  only  merit.  It  was  this  too  that  enabled  them  to 
originate  that  new  style  of  vaulted  buildings  which  at  one  period  of 
the  Middle  Ages  promised  to  reach  a  degree  of  perfection  to  which 
no  architecture  of  the  world  had  ever  attained.  The  Gothic  style, 
it  is  true,  perished  at  a  time  when  it  was  very  far  from  completed; 
but  it  is  a  point  of  no  small  interest  to  know  where  and  under  what 


376 


ROMAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


circumstances  it  was  invented.  We  shall  subsequently  have  to  trace 
how  far  it  advanced  towards  that  perfection  at  which  it  aimed,  but 
to  which  it  never  reached.  Strangely  enough,  it  failed  solely  because 
of  the  revival  and  the  pernicious  influence  of  that  very  parent  style 
to  which  it  owed  its  birth,  and  the  growth  and  maturity  of  which  we 
have  just  been  describing.  It  was  the  grandeur  of  the  edifices  reared  at 
Rome  in  the  first  centuries  of  the  Empire  which  so  impressed  the 
architects  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  that  they  abandoned 
their  own  beautiful  style  to  imitate  that  of  the  Romans,  but  with  an 
incongruity  which  seems  inevitably  to  result  from  all  imitations,  as 
contrasted  with  true  creations,  in  architectural  art. 


Egyptian  Vase.   From  a  paiutinp-. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  VI. 


SASSANIAN  AllClIITECTURE. 


377 


t 


CHAPTER  VI. 


SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


CONTENTS. 

Historical  notice  —  Palaces   of  Diarbekr  and  Al  Hadhr  —  Domes  —  Serbistan 
Firouzabad  —  Tak  Kesra. 


iHERE  still  remains  one  other  style  to  be  described  before  leaving 


X  the  domain  of  Heathendom  to  venture  into  the  wide  realms  of 
Christian  and  Saracenic  art  with  which  the  remainder  of  these  two 
volumes  is  mainly  occupied.  Unfortunately  it  is  not  one  that  was  of  great 
importance  while  it  existed,  and  it  is  one  of  which  we  know  very  little 
at  present.  This  arises  partly  from  the  fact  that  all  the  principal 
buildings  of  the  Sassanian  kings  were  situated  on  or  near  the  alluvial 
plains  of  Mesopotamia,  and  were  therefore  built  either  of  sun-burnt 
or  imperfectly  baked  bricks,  which  consequently  crumbled  to  dust,  or, 
where  erected  with  more  durable  materials,  these  have  been  quarried 
by  the  succeeding  inhabitants  of  these  fertile  regions.  Partly  also  it 
arises  from  the  Sassanians  not  being  essentially  a  building  race.  Their 
religion  required  no  temples  and  their  customs  repudiated  tlie  splendor 
of  the  sepulchre,  so  that  their  buildings  were  mainly  palaces.  One  of 
these,  that  at  Dustagird,  is  described  by  all  contemporary  historians' 
as  one  of  the  most  gorgeous  palaces  of  the  East,  but  its  glories  were 
ephemeral ;  gold  and  silver  and  precious  hangings  rich  in  color  and 
embroidery  made  up  a  splendor  in  which  the  more  stable  arts  of  archi- 
tecture had  but  little  part,  and  all  perished  in  an  hour  when  invaded 
by  the  victorious  soldiers  of  Heraclius,  or  the  more  destructive  hosts  of 
Arabian  invaders  a  few  years  afterwards.  Whatever  the  cause  how- 
ever, never  was  destruction  more  complete.  Two  or  three  ruined  palaces 
still  exist  in  Persia  and  Mesopotamia.  A  fragment  known  as  the  Tak 
Kesra  still  remains  to  indicate  the  spot  where  Ctesiphon  once  stood. 


CHRONOLOGY. 


Ardeshir,  or  Artaxerxes,  establishes 


Fii-ouzabad  (about)  A.  D.  450 

Khosru  Nusliirvan  begins  to  reign     .    .  531 

 builds  palace  at  Ctesiphon  (about)  .  550 

Khosru  Purviz  Chosroes  591 

Palace  at  Mashita  614-627 

Battle  of  Cadesia  .    ,  636 


Sassanian  dynasty  A, 

Al  Hadhr  built  (about)  

Tiridates  : 

Serbistan  (about)  

Bahram  Gaur  begins  to  reign    .    .  . 


A.  D.  226 
.  .  250 
.  286-342 
.  .  350 
.    .  420 


These  are  well  epitomized  by  Gibbon,  Book  xlvi.  vol.  v.  p-  528. 


378 


SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


but  tlie  site  of  Dustagird  is  still  a  matter  of  dispute.  So  little  in  fact 
remains  that  we  should  hardly  be  able  to  form  an  idea  of  what  the 
style  really  was,  but  for  the  fortunate  discovery  of  a  palace  at  Mashita 
in  Moab,  whicli  seems  undoubtedly  to  have  been  erected  by  the  last 
great  king  of  tliis  dynasty,  and  which  is  yet  unsurpassed  for  beauty 
of  detail  and  richness  of  ornament  by  any  building  of  its  class 
and  age. 

As  nearly  as  may  be,  one  thousand  years  had  elapsed  since  the 
completion  of  the  palaces  at  Persepolis  and  Susa  and  the  commencement 
of  this  building,  and  for  the  great  part  of  that  period  the  history  of 
Persian  or  Central  Asian  architecture  is  a  blank.  The  Seleucidse  built 
nothing  that  has  come  down  to  our  times.  The  Parthians  too,  have  left 
us  little,  so  that  it  is  practically  only  after  a  hiatus  of  nearly  six 
centuries,  during  which  no  building  now  known  to  exist  can  be  quoted, 
that  we  again  begin  to  feel  that  the  art  had  not  entirely  perished  in 
the  populous  countries  of  Central  Asia ;  but  even  then  our  history 
recommences  so  timidly  and  with  buildings  of  such  uncertain  dates  as 
to  be  very  far  from  satisfactory. 

One  of  the  oldest  buildings  known  as  belonging  to  the  new  school 
is  the  palace  of  Al  Hadhr,  situated  in  the  plain,  about  30  miles 
from  the  Ti<xris,  nearly  west  from  the  ruins  of  Kaleli  Shergat. 


252.   Plan  of  Palace  at  Al  Hadhr.   (From  a  Sketch  by  Mr.  Layard.)  Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 

The  city  itself  is  circular  in  plan,  nearly  an  English  mile  in 
diameter,  and  surrounded  by  a  stone  wall  with  towers  at  intervals,  in 
the  centre  of  which  stands  a  walled  enclosure,  nearly  square  in  plan, 
about  700  ft.  by  800.  This  is  again  subdivided  into  an  outer  and  inner 
court  by  a  wall  across  its  centre.  The  outer  court  is  unencumbered 
by  buildings,  the  inner  nearly  filled  with  them.i    The  principal  of 


1  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  ix.  pi.  9,  p.  476. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  VI. 


SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


379 


tliese  is  that  reiDresented  in  plan  on  Woodcut  No.  252.  It  consists 
of  three  large  and  four  smaller  halls  placed  side  by  side,  with  various 
Bmaller  apartments  in  the  rear.  All  these  halls  are  roofed  by  semi, 
circular  tunnel-vaults,  without  ribs  or  other  ornament,  and  they  are 
all  entirely  oj^en  in  front,  all  the  light  and  air  being  admitted  from 
the  one  end. 

There  can  be  very  little  doubt  that  these  halls  are  copies,  or  in 
tended  to  be  so,  of  the  halls  of  the  old  Assyrian  palaces ;  but  that 
strange  mania  for  vaulted  roofs  which  seized  on  all  the  nations  of  the 
East  as  well  as  on  those  of  the  West  during  the  Middle  Ages  led  the 
architect  on  to  a  new  class  of  arrangements,  which  renders  the  resem- 
blance by  no  means  apparent  at  first  sight. 

The  old  halls  had  almost  invariably  their  entrances  on  the  longer 
side ;  but  with  a  vault  this  would  have  required  immense  abutments ; 
and  without  in- 
tersecting vaults, 
which  had  not 
then  come  into 
general  use, would 
even  in  that  case 
have  been  diffi- 
cult. The  most 
obvious  mode  of 
meeting  the  diffi- 
culty was  that  adopted  here  of  using  the  halls  as  abutments  the  one  to 
the  other,  like  the  arches  of  a  bridge  ;  so  that,  if  the  two  external  arches 
were  firm,  all  the  rest  were  safe.  This  was  provided  for  by  making  the 
outer  halls  smaller,  as  shown  in  the  elevation  (Woodcut  No.  253),  or 
by  strengthening  the  outer  wall.  But  even  then  the  architect  seems 
to  have  shrunk  from  weakening  the  intermediate  walls  by  making  too 
many  openings  in  them.  Those  which  do  exist  are  small  and  infre- 
quent ;  so  that  there  is  generally  only  one  entrance  to  each  apartment, 
and  that  so  narrow  as  to  seem  incongruous  with  the  size  of  the  room 
to  which  it  leads. 

It  is  by  no  means  clear  to  what  use  the  square  apartment  in  the 
rear,  with  the  double  wall,  was  applied.  It  may  have  been  a  temple, 
but  more  probably  contained  a  stair  or  inclined  plane  leading  to  the 
roof  or  upper  rooms,  which  almost  certainly  existed  over  the  smaller 
halls,  at  least. 

All  the  details  of  the  building  are  copied  from  the  Roman  —  the 
archivolts  and  pilasters  almost  literally  so,  but  still  so  rudely  executed 
as  to  prove  that  it  was  not  done  under  the  direct  superintendence  of  a 
Roman  artist.  This  is  even  more  evident  with  regard  to  the  griffins 
and  scroll-work,  and  the  acanthus-leaves  which  ornament  the  capitals 
and  Mezes.  The  most  peculiar  ornament,  however,  is  the  range  of  masks 


253.   Elevation  of  part  of  the  Palace  of  Ad  Hadhr, 
Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


3m 


SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I 


carried  round  all  the  archivolts  of  the  arches.  The  only  thing  known 
at  all  similar  is  the  celebrated  arch  at  Volterra  with  three  masks ;  but 
here  these  are  infinitely  more  numerous  over  all  the  arches,  and  form, 
in  fact,  the  principal  features  of  the  decorations. 

Even  tradition  is  silent  regarding  the  date  of  these  remarkable  ruins. 
The  style  of  architecture,  however,  certainly  points  to  a  period  anterior 
to  the  age  of  Constantine,  but  not  so  early  as  the  time  of  Aurelian 
and  the  flourishing  days  of  Palmyra.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  speak  at 
all  confidently,  as  we  are  so  entirely  ignorant  of  the  local  circumstances 
of  the  place  at  the  time  the  buildings  were  erected ;  and  local  peculi- 
arities often  influence  a  style  as  much  as  the  age  in  which  it  flourished. 

Another  building  which  merits  more  at!  jntion  than  has  hitherto 
been  bestowed  upon  it  is  now  used  as  the  great  mosque  at  Diarbekr. 
Neither  its  history  nor  even  its  date  is  correctly  known ;  but  judging 
from  its  style,  in  so  far  as  it  can  be  made  out  from  such  drawings  as 
exist,  it  may  originally  have  been  erected  as  early  as  the  age  of  Tiri- 
dates  (a.d.  286-342).  The  palace  —  for  such  it  was  originally — consists 
of  an  oblong  courtyard,  at  either  end  of  which  a  building  with  open 
arcades  in  two  stories  facing  one  another  —  as  in  the  palace  of  the 
Hebdomon  at  Constantinople  —  and  between  the  two,  facing  the  en- 
trance, is  the  fa9ade  of  a  church  standing  on  the  east  side  of  the  court.^ 

The  ])rincipal  of  the  two  wing-buildings  is  represented  on  Woodcut 
No.  254.  The  framework  of  a  debased  Roman  style  of  architecture 
similar  to  parts  of  the  buildings  of  Diocletian  or  Constantine  at  Spalatro 
or  Jerusalem,  but,  being  far  removed  from  the  influence  of  the  capital, 
the  details  display  a  wildness  wliich  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  contem- 
porary example  in  Italy  or  the  further  west.  One  of  the  most  puzzling 
eccentricities  connected  with  this  building  is  that  the  architecture  of 
the  upper  story  is  much  more  classical  than  that  of  the  lower.  There 
is  no  feature  in  it — .barring  the  Cufic  inscription  —  that  indicates  an  age 
subsequent  to  the  time  of  Constantine.  With  the  lower  story,  however, 
the  case  is  different.  The  pointed  arches  and  the  details  of  the  openings 
generally  are  those  of  a  much  later  period,  though  of  course  from  their 
position  they  must  have  been  erected  before  the  upper.  On  the  whole 
there  seems  little  doubt  that  the  building  we  now  see  was  erected,  as 
it  now  stands,  at  the  age  of  the  Cufic  inscriptions,^  whatever  that  may 
be,  but  that  the  remains  of  some  more  ancient  edifice  was  most  skilfully 
worked  up  in  the  new.  Till,  however,  the  building  is  carefully 
examined  by  some  thoroughly  competent  person,  this  must  remain 


*  For  the  principal  part  of  the  infor- 
mation regarding  this  building  I  am  in- 
debted to  M.  C.  Texier,  He  possessed 
detailed  drawings  of  every  part,  but  they 
Jhave  never  been  piiblislied. 

2  These  inscriptions  were  all  copied 


by  Consul  Taylor,  and  brought  home  to 
this  country.  I  never  could  learn,  how- 
ever, that  they  were  translated.  I  feel 
certain  they  were  never  published,  and 
cannot  find  out  what  has  become  of 
them. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  VI.  GREAT  MOSQUE  AT  DIAIIBEKR.  381: 

doubtful.    The   building    is   rich,  and   so   interesting  that   it  is. 
to  be  hoped  that  its  history  and  peculiarities  will  before  long  be 
investigated. 

With  the  accession  of  the  Sassanians,  a.  d.  223,  Persia  regained. 


much  of  that  power  and  stability  to  which  she  had  been  so  long  a . 
stranger.  The  capture  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Valerian  by  the  2d 
king  of  the  race,  a.  p.  260,  tlie  conquest  of  Armenia  and  victories  over 
Galerius  by  the  7th  (290),  and  the  exploits  of  the  14th,  Bahrain  Gaur, 


382 


SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


and  his  visit  to  India  and  alliance  with  its  kings,  all  point  to  extended 
power  abroad ;  while  the  improvement  in  the  fine  arts  at  home  indi- 
cates returning  prosperity  and  a  degree  of  security  unknown  since  the 
fall  of  the  Achaemenid^e. 

These  kings  seem  to  have  been  of  native  race,  and  claimed  descent 
from  the  older  dynasties :  at  all  events  they  restored  the  ancient  reli- 
gion and  many  of  the  habits  and  customs  with  which  we  are  familiar 
as  existing  before  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

As  before  remarked,  fire-worship  does  not  admit  of  teinples,  and 
we  consequently  miss  that  class  of  buildings  which  in  nil  ages  best 
illustrates  the  beauties  of  architecture ;  and  it  is  only  in  a  few 
scattered  remains  of  i)alaces  that  we  are  able  to  trace  the  progress  of 
the  style.  Such  as  they  are,  they  indicate  considerable  originality  and 
power,  but  at  the  same  time  point  to  a  state  of  society  when  attention 
to  security  hardly  allowed  the  architect  the  free  exercise  of  the  more 
delicate  ornaments  of  his  art. 

The  Sassanians  took  up  the  style  where  it  was  left  by  tlie  builders 
of  Al  Hadhr ;  but  we  only  find  it  after  a  long  interval  of  time,  during 
which  changes  had  taken  place  which  altered  it  to  a  considerable 
extent,  and  made  it  in  fact  into  a  ncAv  and  complete  style. 

They  retained  the  great  tunnel-like  halls  of  Al  Hadhr,  but  only  as 
entrances.  They  cut  bold  arches  through  the  dividing  walls,  so  as  to 
form  them  into  lateral  suites.  But,  above  all,  they  learnt  to  place 
domes  on  the  intersections  of  their  halls,  not  resting  on  drums,  but  on 
]jendentives,i  and  did  not  even  attempt  to  bring  down  simulated  lines 
of  support  to  the  ground  Besides  all  these  constructive  i)eculiaritie8, 
they  lost  all  trace  of  Roman  detail,  and  adopted  a  system  of  long  reed- 
like pilasters,  extending  from  the  ground  to  the  cornice,  below  which 
they  were  joined  by  small  semicircular  arches.  They  in  short  adopted 
all  the  peculiarities  which  are  found  in  the  Byzantine  style  as  carried 
out  at  a  later  age  in  Armenia  and  the  East.  We  must  know  more  of 
this  style,  and  be  able  to  ascribe  authentic  dates  to  such  examples  as 
we  are  acquainted  with,  before  we  can  decide  whether  the  Sassanians 
borrowed  the  style  from  tlie  Eastern  IJomans,  or  whether  they  them- 
selves were  in  fact  the  inventors  from  whom  the  architects  of  the 
more  Avestern  nations  took  the  hints  which  they  afterwards  so  much 
improved  upon. 

The  various  steps  by  which  the  Romans  advanced  from  the  con- 
struction of  buildings  like  the  Pantheon  to  that  of  the  church  of 
Sta.  Sophia  at  Constantino])le  are  so  consecutive  and  so  easily  traced 


1  These  are  expedients  for  filHng  up 
the  corners  of  square  lower  stories  on 
which  it  is  intended  to  place  a  circular 
superstructure.  They  somewhat  re- 
semble very  large  brackets  or  corbels 


placed  in  an  angle.  Examples  of  them 
have  been  given  in  speaking  of  Byzan- 
tine architecture,  and  others  will  be 
found  in  the  chapter  on  Mahomedau 
Architecture  in  India,  further  on. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  VI. 


SERBISTAN. 


383 


as  to  be  intelligible  in  themselves  without  the  necessity  of  seeking 
for  any  foreign  element  which  may  have  affected  them.  If  it  really 
was  so,  and  the  architecture  of  Constantinople  was  not  influenced  from 
the  East,  we  must  admit  that  the  Sassanian  was  an  independent  and 
simultaneous  invention,  possessing  characteristics  well  worthy  of  study. 
It  is  quite  certain,  too,  that  this  style  had  a  direct  influence  on  the 
Christian  and  Moslem  styles  of  Asia,  which  exhibit  many  features  not 
derivable  from  any  of  the  more  Western  styles. 

A  few  examples  will  render  this  clearer  than  it  can  be  made  in 
words.  The  plan  and  section  (Woodcuts  Nos.  255  and  256)  of  a 
small  but  interesting  ])alace  at  Serbistan,  will  explain  most  of  the 
peculiarities  of  the  style.  The  entrances,  it  will  be  observed,  are  deep 
tunnel-like  arches,  but  the  centre  is  covered  by  a  dome  resting  on 
pendentives,  not  filling  up  the  angles  by  a  great  bracket,  as  was  usual 


bistau.  Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in.      Flandin  and  Coste's  "  Voyage  en  Perse.")   Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


with  the  Romans,  but  constructed  by  throwing  a  series  of  arches 
across  them,  as  shown  in  the  woodcut,  so  as  to  convert  the  square  into 
the  circular  form  required.  The  dome,  too,  is  elliptical,  not  semi- 
circular, and  is  the  next  step  to  the  pointed  or  conical  dome,  which  was 
necessarily  introduced  in  the  more  rainy  climates  further  north. 
Being  of  brick,  the  building  depended  externally  on  stucco  for  its 
ornamentation ;  and  this  having  perished,  w^e  are  left  without  the 
means  of  judging  of  its  details. 

In  the  lateral  halls,  pillars  are  placed  at  some  distance  from 
the  walls,  from  which  heavy  transverse  ribs  spring.  The  builders 
thus  obtained  the  means  of  counteracting  the  thrust  of  the  vault, 
without  breaking  the  external  outline  by  buttresses,  and  without 
occupying  much  room  on  the  floor,  while  at  the  same  time  these 
projections  added  considerably  to  the  architectural  effect  of  the 
interior.  The  date  of  the  building  is  not  correctly  known,  but  it 
most  probably  belongs  to  the  age  of  Shapour,  in  the  middle  of  the 
fourth  century. 

The  palace  at  Firouzabad  is  probably  a  century  more  modern,  and 


384 


SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I 


is  erected  on  a  far  more  magnificent  scale,  being  in  fact  the  typical 
building  of  the  style,  so  far  at  least  as  we  at  present  know. 

As  will  be  seen  in  the  plan,  the 
great  central  entrance  opens  late- 
rally into  two  side  chambers,  and 
the  inner  of  these  into  a  suite  of 
three  splendid  domed  apartments, 
occupying  the  whole  width  of  the 
building.  Beyond  this  is  an  inner 
court,  surrounded  by  apartments  all 
opening  uj^on  it. 

As  will  be  perceived  from  Wood- 
cut No.  258,  representing  one  of 
the  doorways  in  the  domed  halls, 
the  details  have  nothing  Roman 
about  them,  but  are  borrowed  di- 
rectly from  Persepolis,  with  so  little 
change  that  the  style,  so  far  as  we 
can  now  judge,  is  almost  an  exact 
reproduction.  The  portion  of  the 
exterior  represented  in  Woodcut  No. 
259  tells  the  same  tale,  though  for 
its  prototype  we  must  go  back  still 
further  to  the  ruins  at  Wurka — the 
building  called  Wuswus  at  that 
place  (see  p.  161)  being  a  palace 
arranged  very  similarly  to  these,  and 
adorned  externally  by  panellings  and 
reeded  pilasters,  differing  from  these 
buildings  only  in  detail  and  arrange- 
ment, but  in  all  essentials  so  like 
them  as  to  prove  that  the  Sassanians 
borrowed  most  of  their  peculiarities 
from  earlier  native  examples. 

The  building  itself  is  a  perfectly 
regular  parallelogram,  332  ft.  by 
180,  without  a  single  break,  or  even 
an  opening  of  any  sort,  except  the 
one  great  arch  of  the  entrance ;  and 
externally  it  has  no  ornament  but 
the  repetition  of  the  tall  pilasters 
and  narrow  arches  represented  in 
Woodcut  No.  259.  Its  aspect  is  thus 
simple  and  severe,  but  more  like  a  gigantic  Bastile  than  the  palace 
of  a  gay,  pavilion-loving  people,  like  the  Persians. 


Plan  of  Palace  at  Firouzabad. 
(From  Flandin  and  Coste.)  Scale 
100  ft.  to  1  in. 


258. 


Doorway    at   Firouzabad.  (From 
Flaudiu  aud  Coste.) 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  VI. 


TAK  KESRA. 


385 


Internally  the  arrangement  of  the  halls  is  simple  and  appropriate, 
and,  though  somewhat  too  formal,  is  dignified  and  capable  of  consider- 
able architectural  display.  On 
the  whole,  however,  its  formal- 
ity is  perhaps  less  pleasing 
than  the  more  picturesque 
arrangements  of  the  palace  at 
Serbistan  last  described. 

Another  century  probably 
elapsed  before  Khosru  (Nushir- 
van)  commenced  the  most  dar- 
ing, though  certainly  not  the 
most  beautiful,  building  ever 
attempted  by  any  of  his  race ; 
for  to  him  we  must  ascribe  the  well-known  Tak  Kesra  (Woodcuts 
Nos.  260,  261),  the  only  important  ruin  that  now  marks  the  site 
of  the  Ctesiphon  of  the  Greeks  —  the  great  Modain  of  the  Arabian 
conquerors. 

As  it  is,  it  is  only  a  fragment  of  a  palace,  a  fa9ade  similar  in 
arrangement  to  that  at  Firouzabad,  but  on  a  much  larger  scale,  its 
Avidth  being  370  ft., 
its  height  105.  In- 
stead of  the  plain 
circular  arch  of  the 
earlier  example,  the 
architect  has  here  at- 
tempted the  section 
of  one  of  his  domes — 
hoping  thus  to  avoid 
some,  at  least,  of  the 
lateral  thrust — to  ob- 
tain, in  short,  by  an 
ellipse  what  the  Gothic  architects  managed  by  the  pointed  arch.  As 
a  mere  scientific  point  of  construction  it  is  not  clear  that  the  Sassanian 
did  not  take  the  best  mode  of  attaining  his  end ;  but  to  our  eyes,  at 
least,  it  appears  fortunate  that  the  Gothic  architects  had  other  models 
before  them,  or  they  might  have  copied  what  perhaps  even  their  ability 
would  never  have  rendered  a  beauty. 

Another  detail  in  which  this  building  contrasts  most  painfully 
with  the  last  described  is  that,  instead  of  the  tall,  simple,  and  elegantly- 
shaped  pilasters  which  adorned  its  exterior,  we  here  find  a  number  of 
stories  of  blind  arches  superimposed  the  one  on  the  other  without  any 
apparent  motive,  and  certainly  without  any  compensating  accession  of 
elegance.  The  foiling  of  seventeen  small  arches  above  the  great  arch  is 
interesting,  as  containing  the  germ  of  much  that  was  found  afterwards 
VOL.  I.  — 25 


259.   Part  of  External  Wall,  Firouzabad.  No 
scale. 


260.   Plan  of  Tak  Kesra  at  Ctesiphon.  (Fi 
Coste.)   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in 


lin  and 


386 


SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  L 


in  both  Eastern  and  Western  styles.  Here  it  arose  from  an  attempt 
of  the  arcliitect  to  carry  his  third  story  round  the  top  of  the  great 
arch.  This  is  not  so  evident  in  the  small,  as  in  Flandin  and  Coste's 
large  drawings,^  but  the  arches  in  fact  are  the  same  and  spaced  in  the 
same  manner  over  the  arch  as  in  the  wings;  but  being  in  brick 
shafts  could  not  be  introduced,  and  altogether  the  whole  is  so  clumsy 
and  so  tentative  that  numberless  anomalies  are  everywhere  apparent. 
The  design  is  novel,  and  too  ambitious  to  be  successful. 


261.   Elevation  of  Great  Arcli  of  Tak  Kesra  at  Ctesiphon,    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 

Though  it  may  not  perhaps  be  beautiful,  there  is  certainly  some- 
thing grand  in  a  great  vaulted  entrance  72  ft.  wide  by  85  ft.  in 
height  and  115  in  depth,  though  it  makes  the  doorway  at  the  inner 
end  and  all  the  adjoining  parts  look  extremely  small.  It  would  have 
required  the  rest  of  the  palace  to  be  carried  out  on  an  unheard-of 
scale  to  compensate  for  this  defect.  The  Saracenic  architects  got  over 
the  difficulty  by  making  the  great  portal  a  semi-dome,  and  by  cutting 
it  up  with  ornaments  and  details,  so  that  the  doorway  looked  as  large 
as  was  required  for  the  space  left  for  it.  Here,  in  the  parent  form, 
all  is  perfectly  plain  in  the  interior,  and  painting  alone  could  have 
been  employed  to  relieve  its  nakedness,  which,  however,  it  never  would 
have  done  effectually.^ 

The  ornaments  in  these  and  in  all  the  other  buildings  of  the  Sassa- 
nians  having  been  executed  in  plaster,  we  should  hardly  be  able  to 
form  an  idea  of  the  richness  of  detail  they  once  possessed  but  for  the 


1  Flandin  and  Coste,  "  Voyage  en 
Perse,"  vol.  iv.  pi.  218. 

2  These  four  buildings  probably  date 
as  near  as  may  be  one  century  from  each 
other,  thus  — 

Al  Hadhr  ....  A.  d.  250 
Serbistan  350 


Firouzabad  .  .  .  A.  D.  450 
Ctesiphon  550 

To  which  we  may  now  add 

Mashita  620 

A  bare  skeleton,  which  it  will  require 

much  time  and  labor  to  clothe  with 

flesh  and  restore  to  life. 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  VI. 


PALACE  AT  MASHITA. 


387 


fortunate  discovery  of  a  palace  erected  in  Moab  by  Kliosru  Purviz,  tlie 
last  ofreat  monarch  of  this  line.i 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  annexed  woodcut,  the  whole  building  is 
a  square,  measuring  above  500  ft.  each  way,  but  only  the  inner  por- 
tion of  it,  about  170  ft.  square,  marked  e  e,  has  ever  been  finished  or 


262.    Sketch  Plan  of  Palace  at  Mashita. 

inhabited.  It  was  apj^arently  originally  erected  as  a  hunting-box  on 
the  edge  of  the  desert  for  the  use  of  the  Persian  king,  and  preserves 
all  the  features  we  ai-e  so  familiar  with  in  Sassanian  palaces.  It  is  wholly 
in  brick,  and  contains  in  the  centre  a  triapsal  hall,  once  surmounted 
by  a  dome  on  pendentives  like  those  at  Serbistan  or  Firouzabad.  On 
either  side  were  eight  vaulted  halls  with  intermediate  courts  almost 
identical  with  those  found  at  Eski  Bagdad^  or  at  Firouzabad.  So 

1  "The  Land  of  Moab,"  by  H.  B. 
Tristram,  M.  A. ,  etc.  Murray,  1873.  As 
all  the  information  respecting  the  pal- 
ace is  contained  in  that  book,  pp.  195  to 
215,  and  all  the  illustrations  here  used 
are  taken  from  it,  it  will  not  be  neces- 


sary to  refer  to  it  agani.  For  further 
information  on  the  subject  the  reader  is 
referred  to  that  work. 

2  Rich,  "Residence  in  Koordistan," 
ii.  251  et  seq. 


388 


SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


far  there  is  nothing  either  remarkable  or  interesting,  except  the 
pecuUarity  of  finding  a  Persian  building  in  such  a  situation,  and  in 
the  fact  that  the  capitals  of  the  pillars  are  of  that  full-curved  shape 
which  are  first  found  in  the  works  of  Justinian,  which  so  far  helps  to 
fix  the  date  of  the  building. 

It  seems,  however,  that  at  a  time  when  Chosroes  possessed  all  Asia 
and  part  of  Africa,  from  the  Indus  to  the  Nile,  and  maintained  a  camp 
for  ten  years  on  the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus,  in  sight  of  Constantinople, 
tliat  this  modest  abode  no  longer  sufficed  for  the  greatest  monarch  of 
the  day.  He  consequently  determined  to  add  to  it  thfe  enclosure 
above  described,  and  to  ornament  it  with  a  portal  which  should  exceed 
in  richness  anything  of  the  sort  to  be  found  in  Syria.  Unfortunately 


263.    Interior  of  ruined  triapsal  Hall  of  Palace. 


for  the  history  of  art,  this  design  was  never  carried  out.  When  the 
walls  were  raised  to  the  height  of  about  twenty  feet,  the  workmen  were 
called  off,  most  probably  in  consequence  of  the  result  of  the  battle  of 
Nineveh  in  627  ;  and  the  stones  remain  half  hewn,  the  ornament 
unfinished,  and  the  whole  exactly  as  if  left  in  a  panic,  never  to  be 
resumed. 

The  length  of  the  fayade  —  marked  a  a  in  plan.  Woodcut  No.  '262  — 
between  the  plain  towers,  which  are  the  same  all  round,  is  about 
170  ft.,1  the  centre  of  which  was  occupied  by  a  square-headed  portal 
flanked  by  two  octagonal  towers.    Each  face  of  these  towers  was  or- 

1  The  plan  made  by  Dr.  Tristram's  |  a  hurried  sketch,  and  cannot  be  depended 
party,  which  is  all  we  yet  have,  was  only  |  upon  for  minute  details. 


Bk.  IV.  Cn.  YI. 


TALACE  AT  MASIIITA. 


389 


namented  by  an  equilateral  triangular  pediment,  filled  with  the  richest 
sculpture.    In  that  shown  in  Woodcut  No.  264,  two  large  animals  are 


•Mi.    One  Coiupartiiieut  of  Western  Octagon  Tower  of  the  Persian  Palace  at  Masliita. 


represented  facing  one  another  on  the  opposite .  sides  of  a  vase,  on 
which  are  two  doves,  and  out  of  which  springs  a  vine  which  spreads 
over  the  whole  surface  of  the  triangle,  interspersed  with  birds  and 


390 


SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


bunches  of  grajjes.  In  another  panel  one  of  tlie  lions  is  represented 
with  wings,  evidently  the  last  lineal  descendant  of  those  found  at 
Nineveh  and  Persepolis,  and  in  all  are  curions  hexagonal  rosettes, 


carved  with  a  richness  far  exceeding  anything  found  in  Gothic 
architecture,  but  which  are  found  repeated  with  very  little  variation 
in  the  Jaina  temples  of  Western  India. 

The  wing  walls  of  the  fayade  are  almost  more  beautiful  than  the 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  VI. 


PALACE  AT  MASHITA. 


391 


central  part  itself.  As  on  the  towers,  the  ornamentation  consists  of  a 
series  of  triangles  filled  with  incised  decorations  and  with  rosettes 
in  their  centres ;  while,  as  will  be  observed  in  Woodcut  No.  265,  the 
decoration  in  each  panel  is  varied,  and  all  are  unfinished.  The  cornice 
only  exists  at  one  angle,  and  the  mortice  stones  never  were  inserted 
that  were  meant  to  keep  it  in  its  place.  Enough  however  remains  to 
enable  us  to  see  that,  as  a  surface  decoration,  it  is  nearly  unrivalled 
in  beauty  and  appropriateness.  As  an  external  form  I  know  nothing 
like  it.  It  is  only  matched  by  that  between  the  arches  of  the  inte- 
rior of  Sta.  Sophia  at  Constantinople,  which  is  so  near  it  in  age  that 
they  may  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  same  school  of  art. 

Notwithstanding  the  incomplete  state  in  wliicli  this  facade  was  left 
there  does  not  seem  much  difticulty  in  restoring  it  witliin  very  narrow 
limits  of  certainty.  The  elevation  cannot  have  differed  greatly  from 
that  shown  in  Woodcut  No.  266,  on  tlie  following  x)age.  In  the  first 
place  there  must  have  been  a  great  arch  over  the  entrance  doorway  — 
this  is  de  rigueur  in  Sassanian  art,  and  this  must  liave  been  stilted,  or 
horse-shoed,  as  without  that  it  could  not  be  made  to  fit  on  to  the 
cornice  in  the  towers,  and  all  the  arches  in  the  interior  take,  as  I  am 
informed,  that  shape.  Besides  this  there  is  at  Takt-i-Gero  i  a  Sassanian 
arch  of  nearly  the  same  age  and  equally  classical  in  design,  which  is, 
like  this  one,  horse-shoed  to  the  extent  of  one-tenth  of  its  diameter, 
and  at  Urgub,  in  Asia  Minor,  all  the  rock-cut  excavations  which  are 
of  this  or  an  earlier  age  have  this  peculiarity  in  a  marked  degree.^ 

Above  this,  the  third  story  is  a  repetition  of  the  lowest,  on  lialf 
its  scale  —  as  in  the  Tak  Kesra,  —  but  with  tliis  difference,  that  here  the 
angular  form  admits  of  its  being  carried  constructively  over  the  great 
arch,  so  that  it  becomes  a  facsimile  of  an  arch  at  Murano  near  Venice,^ 
which  is  adorned  with  the  spoils  of  some  desecrated  building  of  the 
same  age,  probably  of  Antioch  or  some  city  of  Syria  destroyed  by  the 
Saracens.  Above  this  the  elevation  is  more  open  to  conjecture,  but  it 
is  evident  that  the  whole  fa9ade  could  not  have  been  less  than  90  ft.  in 
height,  from  the  fact  that  the  mouldings  at  the  base  (Woodcut  No.  265) 
are  the  mouldings  of  a  Corinthian  column  of  that  height,  and  no  archi- 
tect with  a  knowledge  of  the  style  would  have  used  such  mouldings, 
four  and  a  half  feet  in  height,  unless  he  intended  his  building  to  be 
of  a  height  equal  at  least  to  that  proportion.  The  domes  are  those  of 
Serbistan  or  of  Amrith  (Woodcut  No.  120)  ;  but  such  domes  are  fre- 
quent in  Syria  before  this  age,  and  became  more  so  afterwards. 

The  great  defect  of  the  palace  of  Mashita  as  an  illustration  of  Sas- 
sanian art  arises  from  the  fact  that,  as  a  matter  of  course,  Chosroes 


»  Flandin  and  Coste,  vol.  iv.  pis.  214,  chitecture."  4to.  1864.  PI.  iv.  p.  4Q 
215.  et  seq. 

2  Texier  and  Pullan,  " Byzantine  Ar-      ^  Ruskin,  "Stones  of  Venice,"  voK 

'  ii.  pis.  3,  4,  and  5. 


392  SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE.  Pakt  I. 

did  not  bring  with  him  architects  or  sculptors  to  erect  this  building. 


He  employed  the  artists  of  Antioch  or  Damascus,  or  those  of  Syria,  as 
he  found  them.    He  traced  the  form  and  design  of  what  he  wanted, 


Bk.  IV.  Ch.  VI. 


PALACE  AT  MASIIITA. 


393 


and  left  them  to  execute  it,  find  they  introduced  the  vine  —  which  had 
been  the  principal  "  motivo  "  in  such  designs  from  the  time  of  Herod 
till  the  Moslem  invasion  —  and  other  details  of  the  Byzantine  art  with 
which  Justinian  had  made  them  familiar  from  his  buildings  at  Jeru- 
salem, Antioch,  and  elsewhere.  Exactly  the  same  thing  happened  in 
India  six  centuries  later.  When  the  Moslems  conquered  that  country  in 
the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century  they  built  Mosques  at  Delhi  and 
Ajmere  which  are  still  among  the  most  beautiful  to  be  found  anywhere. 
The  design  and  outline  are  purely  Saracenic,  but  every  detail  is  Hindu, 


267.   Ai-ch  of  Chosroes  at  Takt-i-Bostan,    (From  Flantliii  and  Coste.) 


but,  just  as  in  this  case,  more  excpiisite  than  anything  the  Moslems 
ever  did  afterwards  in  that  country. 

Though  it  thus  stands  singularly  alone,  the  discovery  of  this  palace 
fills  a  gap  in  our  history  such  as  no  other  building  occupies  up  to  the 
present  time.  And  when  more,  and  more  correct,  details  have  been 
procured,  it  will  be  well  worthy  of  a  monograph,  which  can  hardly 
be  attempted  now  from  the  scanty  materials  available.  Its  greatest 
interest,  however,  lies  in  the  fact  that  all  the  Persian  and  Indian 


394 


SASSANIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  I. 


mosques  were  derived  from  buildings  of  this  class.  The  African 
mosques  were  enlargements  of  the  atrim  of  Christian  basilicas,  and 
tliis  form  is  never  found  there,  but  it  is  the  key  to  all  that  was 
afterwards  erected  to  the  eastward. 

In  the  deartli  of  Sassanian  buildings  there  is  one  other  monument 
that  it  is  worth  while  quoting  before  closing  this  chapter.  It  is  an 
archway  or  grotto,  which  the  same  Chosroes  cut  in  the  rock  at  Takt- 
i-Bostan,  near  Kermanshah  (Woodcut  No.  267  on  the  previous  page). 
Though  so  far  removed  from  Byzantine  influence  it  is  nearly  as 
classical  as  the  palace  at  Mashita.  The  flying  figures  over  the  arch 
are  evident  copies  of  tliose  adorning  the  triumphal  arches  of  the 
Romans,  the  mouldings  are  equally  classical,  and  though  the  costumes 
of  the  principal  j^ersonages,  and  of  those  engaged  in  the  hunting  scenes 
on  eitlier  liand,  partake  more  of  Assyria  than  of  Rome,  the  whole 
betrays  the  influence  of  his  early  education  and  the  diffusion  of 
AVestern  arts  at  that  time  more  than  any  other  monument  we  know  of. 
The  statue  of  himself  on  his  favorite  black  steed  "  Shubz  diz,"  is 
original  and  interesting,  and,  with  many  of  the  details  of  this  monu- 
ment, it  has  been  introduced  into  the  restoration  of  Mashita. 

Tliis,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  but  a  meagre  account  of  the  archi- 
tecture of  a  great  people.  Perhaps  it  may  be  that  the  materials  do  not 
exist  for  making  it  more  complete,  but  what  is  more  likely  is  that 
they  have  not  yet  been  looked  for,  but  will  be  found  when  attention 
is  fairly  directed  to  the  subject.  In  the  meanwhile  what  lias  been 
said  regarding  it  will  be  much  clearer  and  better  understood  when 
we  come  to  speak  of  the  Byzantine  style,  which  overlapped  the 
iSassanian,  and  was  to  some  extent  contemporary  with  it. 


PART  11. 
CHRISTIAN  AROHITEOTUKE. 


BOOK  I. 


CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTORY. 

IF  a  line  were  drawn  north  and  south  from  Memel  on  the  shores  of 
the  Baltic  to  Spalatro  on  the  Adriatic,  it  would  divide  Europe  into 
nearly  equal  halves.  All  that  part  lying  to  the  west  of  the  line 
would  be  found  to  be  inhabited  by  nations  of  Celtic  or  Teutonic 
races,  and  all  those  to  the  eastward  of  it  by  nations  of  Sclavonic 
origin,  if  —  as  we  must  do — we  exclude  from  present  consideration 
those  fragments  of  the  effete  Turanian  races  which  still  linger  to 
the  westward,  as  well  as  the  intrusive  hordes  of  the  same  family 
which  temporarily  occupy  some  fair  portions  to  the  eastward  of  the 
line  so  drawn. 

This  line  is  not  of  course  quite  straight,  for  it  follows  the  boundary 
between  Germany  on  the  one  hand,  and  Russia  and  Poland  on  the 
other  as  far  as  Cracow,  while  it  crosses  Hungary  by  the  line  of 
the  Raab  and  separates  Dalmatia  from  Turkey.  Though  Sclavonic 
influences  may  be  detected  to  the  westward  of  the  boundary,  they  are 
faint  and  underlie  the  Teutonic  element ;  but  to  the  eastward,  the 
little  province  of  Siebenburgen,  in  the  north-east  corner  of  Hungary, 
forms  the  only  little  oasis  of  Gothic  art  in  the  desert  of  Panslavic 
indifference  to  architectural  expression.  Originally  it  was  a  Roman, 
afterwards  the  German,  colony,  and  maintained  its  Gothic  style  through- 
out the  Middle  Ages.^ 


^  In  the  Museum  at  Pesth  are  a  num- 
ber of  objects  of  Egyptian  art,  said  to 
have  been  found  in  tbis  quarter.    Is  it 


too  much  to  assume  the  pre-existence 
of  a  Phoenician  or  Egyptian  colony  here 
before  the  Roman  times  ? 


396 


CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  11. 


From  Spalatro  the  line  crosses  the  Adriatic  to  Fermo,  and  then 
following  very  closely  the  43rd  parallel  of  latitude,  divides  Italy  into 
two  nearly  equal  halves.  The  Gothic  tribes  settled  to  such  an  extent 
to  the  northward  of  this  boundary  as  to  influence  the  style  of  archi- 
tecture in  a  very  marked  degree ;  while  to  the  southward  of  it  their 
presence  can  with  difticulty  be  detected,  except  in  a  few  exceptional 
<;ases,  and  for  a  very  limited  time. 

Architecturally  all  the  styles  of  art  practised  during  the  Middle 
Ages  to  the  westward  and  northward  of  this  boundary,  may  be  cor- 
rectly and  graphically  described  as  the  Gothic  style.  All  those  to  the 
eastward  may  with  equal  propriety  be  designated  as  the  Byzantine 
style  of  art. 

Anterior,  however,  to  tliese,  there  existed  a  transitional  style, 
properly  called  the  Romanesque,  which  may  be  desci'ibed  as  that 
modification  of  the  classical  Roman  form,  wiiich  was  introduced 
between  the  reigns  of  Constantine  and  Justinian,  and  was  avowedly 
an  attempt  to  adapt  classical  forms  to  Christian  i)urposes.  To  the 
eastward  of  the  line  of  demarcation  the  transition  was  perfected 
under  the  reign  of  Justinian  (a.  d.  527  to  504),  when  it  became 
proi)erly  entitled  to  the  name  of  Byzantine.  To  the  westward,  in 
Italy  and  the  south  of  France,  the  Romanesque  continued  to  l)e 
practised  till  the  6th  or  7th  centuries ;  but  about  that  time  occurs 
an  Iiiatus  in  tlie  arcliitectural  history  of  Western  Europe,  owing 
to  the  troubles  which  arose  on  the  dissolution  of  the  Roman  Empire 
and  the  irruption  of  the  Barbarian  hordes.  When  the  art  again 
reappeared,  it  was  strongly  tinctured  by  Barbarian  influences,  and 
may  with  propriety  be  designated  the  Gothic  style,  the  essential 
characteristic  being  that  it  is  tlie  arcliitecture  of  a  people  differing 
from  the  Romans  or  Italians  in  blood,  and,  it  need  liardly  be  added, 
differing  from  them  in  a  like  ratio  in  their  architectural  conceptions. 

Tliis  nomenclature  differs  slightly  from  that  usually  employed  in 
modern  architectural  works.  This  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  ])resent 
names  Avere  introduced  by  persons  writing  monographs  of  the  styles  of 
their  native  countries,  and  not  by  any  one  w^ho,  taking  a  larger  view 
of  the  subject,  was  attempting  to  classify  all  styles.  It  is  of  little 
consequence,  for  instance,  to  inquire  why  the  Germans  should  call 
the  architecture  of  such  catheclrals  as  those  of  Spires,  Worms,  etc., 
by  the  absurd  name  of '  Byzantine,  or  to  ask  them  what  feature  had 
been  borrowed  from  the  Eastern  capital,  or  in  what  one  particular 
they  resembled  the  buildings  of  that  division  of  Europe.  They 
adopted  a  name,  and  so  long  as  they  did  not  extend  their  purview 
beyond  the  Rheinland,  no  harm  was  done.  But  with  a  general 
historian  it  is  different ;  he  has  a  definite  use  for  the  term,  and  he 
cannot  admit  within  its  limits  any  style  or  details  which  cannot 
establish  their  aflinity  to  it. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


The  same  is  equally  true  of  the  Romanesque.  There  is  in  Italy 
and  in  the  south  of  France  a  style  which  is  only  modified  Roman, 
without  any  extraneous  influence  —  and  to  which  the  term  moi'e 
properly  applies,  and  to  use  it  to  designate  the  early  attempts  of 
the  antagonistic  nations  is  to  mistake,  not  only  the  meaning  of  the 
term,  but  the  whole  meaning  of  the  ethnography  of  art.  There  is, 
for  instance,  less  classical  feeling  in  the  naves  of  Peterborough  or 
Ely  Cathedrals,  than  in  those  of  Canterbury  or  York;  and  our 
Norman  buildings,  in  all  essential  respects,  are  far  less  like  those  of 
Rome  than  the  Decorated  Pointed  buildings  which  superseded  them. 
If  the  change  of  a  simple  detail  or  the  substitution  of  a  pointed  for 
a  round  arch  is  sufficient  to  necessitate  a  change  of  name,  the  new 
style  should  have  been  called  Saracenesque,^  or  have  had  some  such 
name  conferred  upon  it. 

The  term  Gothic,  as  applied  to  all  the  styles  invented  and  used  by 
the  Western  Barbarians  who  overthrew  the  Roman  Empire  and  settled 
within  its  limits,  is  a  true  and  expressive  term  both  ethnographically 
and  architecturally.  It  is  true  it  was  originally  invented  and  applied 
as  a  term  of  reproach,  but  that  meaning  has  long  since  passed  away 
and  been  forgotten,  so  that  it  has  become  unobjectionable  in  that 
respect ;  and,  unless  the  several  styles  be  grasped  as  a  whole,  and 
comprehended  under  one  denomination  —  whatever  that  may  be  —  they 
can  never  be  classified  or  be  ])roperly  understood. 

The  first  great  subdivision  of  this  that  occurs,  is  between  the  early 
and  later  Gothic  styles  —  which  may  generally  be  characterized  as  the 
Round  and  Pointed  Arched  Gothic  styles.  In  France,  however,  a 
pointed  style  preceded  the  round-arched,  so  that  this  characteristic 
must  not  be  too  rigidly  insisted  upon.  Beyond  this  general  classifica- 
tion, the  use  of  local  names,  when  available,  will  always  be  found  most 
convenient.  First,  the  country,  or  architectural  province,  in  which 
an  example  is  found  should  be  ascertained,  so  that  its  locality  may  be 
marked,  and  if  possible  with  the  addition  of  a  dynastic  or  regal  name 
to  point  out  its  epoch.  When  the  outline  is  sufficiently  marked,  it 
may  be  convenient,  as  the  French  do,  to  speak  of  the  style  of  the 
13th  century  as  applied  to  their  own  country.  The  terms  they 
use  always  seem  to  be  better  than  1st,  or  2d,  Middle  Pointed,  or 
even  ^'Geometric,"  "Decorated,"  or  "Perpendicular,"  or  such  general 
names  as  neither  tell  the  country  nor  the  age,  nor  even  accurately 
describe  the  style,  though  when  they  have  become  general  it  may 
seem  pedantic  to  refuse  to  use  them.  The  system  of  using  local, 
combined,  and  dynastic  names  has  been  followed  in  describing  all 
the  styles  hitherto  enumerated  in  this  volume,  and  will  be  followed 


1  If  Romanesque  is  to  be  applied  to  1  ought  to  be  called  Egyptianesque,  and 
our  Norman  architecture,  the  Parthenon  |  the  Temple  at  Ephesus  Assyrianesque. 


398 


CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECT UEE. 


Paut  XL 


in  speaking  of  those  which  remain  to  be  described;  and  as  it  is 
generally  found  to  be  so  convenient,  whenever  it  is  possible  it  will 
be  adhered  to. 

In  order  to  carry  out  these  principles,  the  division  proposed  for 
this  part  of  the  subject  is  — 

1st.  To  treat  of  the  Western  Romanesque  as  it  prevailed  in  Italy 
between  the  ages  of  Constantine  and  Justinian  or  down  to  the  age 
of  Gregory  the  Great,  say  about  the  year  600.  So  long  in  fact  as 
it  remained  an  original,  independent  style,  unmixed  with  foreign  or 
extraneous  influences. 

2d.  To  take  up  the  Gothic  style  in  France,  and  follow  it  from  the 
time  it  emancipated  itself  from  the  Romanesque  till  it  perished  under 
Francis  I.  If  this  arrangement  is  not  quite  logical,  it  is  certainly 
convenient,  as  it  enables  us  to  grasp  the  complete  history  of  the 
style  in  the  country  where  most  of  the  more  important  features  were 
invented  and  perfected.  Having  once  mastered  the  history  of  Gothic 
art  in  the  country  of  its  birth,  the  sequence  in  which  the  other 
branches  of  the  style  are  followed  becomes  comparatively  unim- 
portant. The  difficulty  of  arranging  them  does  not  lie  so  much 
in  the  sequence  as  in  the  determination  of  what  divisions  shall 
be  considered  as  separate  architectural  provinces.  In  a  handbook, 
subdivision  could  hardly  be  carried  too  far ;  in  a  history,  a  wider  view 
ought  to  be  taken.  On  the  whole,  perhaps,  the  following  will  best 
meet  the  true  exigencies  of  the  case : 

3d.  Belgium  and  Holland  should  be  taken  up  after  France  as 
a  separate  ])rovince  during  the  Middle  Ages,  while  at  the  same  time 
forming  an  intermediate  link  between  that  country  and  Germany. 

4th.  Though  not  without  important  ethnographical  distinctions,  it 
will  be  convenient  to  treat  all  the  German-speaking  countries  from  the 
Alps  to  the  Baltic  as  one  province.  If  Germany  were  taken  up  before 
France,  such  a  mode  of  treatment  would  be  inadmissible  ;  but  following 
tlie  history  of  the  art  in  that  country,  it  may  be  done  without  either 
confusion  or  needless  repetition. 

6th.  Scandinavia  follows  naturally  as  a  subordinate  and  unfor- 
tunately not  very  important  architectural  subdivision. 

6th.  From  this  we  pass  by  an  easy  gradation  to  the  British 
Islands,  which  in  themselves  contain  three  tolerably  well  defined 
varieties  of  style,  popularly  known  as  the  Saxon,  the  Norman,  or  round- 
arched,  and  the  Gothic,  or  pointed-arched  style  of  Architecture. 

7th.  Spain  might  have  been  made  to  follow  France,  as  most  of  its 
architectural  peculiarities  were  borrowed  from  that  country ;  but  some 
too  own  a  German  origin,  while  on  the  whole  the  new  lessons  to  be 
learned  from  a  study  of  her  art  are  so  few,  that  it  is  comparatively 
unimportant  in  what  sequence  the  country  is  taken. 

8th.  There  then  only  remains  Italy,  from  which  our  history 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  I. 


INTRODUCTORY 


39Q 


sprang,  and  to  which  it  returns.  After  treating  of  the  imperfect 
Gothic  of  the  north,  we  pass  easily  to  the  imperfect  Byzantine  of 
the  southern  division  of  the  peninsula. 

9th.  From  Italy,  by  an  easy  gradation,  we  cross  the  Adriatic,  and 
begin  again  the  history  of  Christian  art  by  tracing  up  the  successive 
developments  of  the  Byzantine  style  of  architecture  in  the  countries 
lying  to  the  eastward  of  the  boundary  line,  with  the  description  of 
which  this  cha})ter  commenced.  Owing  to  the  greater  uniformity  of 
race,  the  thread  of  the  narrative  is  far  more  easily  followed  to  the 
eastward  than  to  the  westward  of  the  line.  The  Byzantine  Empire 
remained  one  and  undivided  during  the  Middle  Ages ;  and  from  that 
we  pass  by  an  easy  gradation  to  Russia,  where  the  style  continued  to 
be  practised  till  Peter  the  Great  superseded  it  by  introducing  the  styles 
of  Western  Europe. 


4C0 


CHRISTIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  U. 


CHAPTER  II. 
WESTERN  ROMANESQUE  STYLE. 

CONTENTS. 

Basilicas  at  Rome  —  St.  Peter's  —  St.  Paul's  —  Basilicas  at  Pvavenna  —  Torcello. 


CHRONOLOGY. 


DATES. 

Honorius  A.  D.  395 

Valentinian   425-435 

Theodoric,  King  of  the  Ostrogoths  .  493-525 
Justinian  •  527 


DATES. 

Alboin  Longinianus,  King   of  Lom- 

bardy  A.  D.  56» 

Gregory  1  590 

Charlemagne  768 


IjASILTCAS. 

LIKE  the  study  of  all  modern  history,  that  of  Christian  architec- 
ture commences  with  Rome;  and  not,  as  is  sometimes  supposed, 
where  the  history  of  Rome  leaves  off,  but  far  back  in  the  Emj^ire,  if 
not,  indeed,  almost  in  the  Republic. 

As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  the  whole  history  of  the  art  in 
Imperial  Rome  is  tliat  of  a  style  in  course  of  transition,  beginning 
with  a  purely  Pagan  or  Grecian  style  in  the  age  of  Augustus,  and 
passing  into  one  almost  wholly  Christian  in  the  age  of  Constantine. 

At  the  first  epoch  of  the  Empire  the  temple  architecture  of  Rome 
consisted  in  an  external  arrangement  of  columns,  without  arches  or 
vaults,  and  was  wholly  unsuited  to  the  purposes  of  Christian  worship. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  period  it  had  become  an  internal  architecture, 
making  use  of  arches  and  vaults  almost  entirely  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  columnar  orders,  except  as  ornaments,  and  became  so  perfectly 
adapted  to  Christian  requirements,  that  little  or  no  essential  change 
in  it  has  taken  place  from  that  time  to  the  present  day.  A  basilica 
of  the  form  adopted  in  the  first  century  after  Constantine  is  as 
suited  now  as  it  was  then  to  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  the 
Christian  ritual. 

The  fact  seems  to  be,  that  during  the  first  three  centuries  after 
the  Christian  era  an  immense  change  was  silently  but  certainly 
working  its  way  in  men's  minds.  The  old  religion  was  effete :  the 
be,st  men,  the  most  intellectual  spirits  of  the  age,  had  no  faith  in 
it;  and  the  new  religion  with  all  its  important  consequences  was 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


BASILICAS. 


401 


gradually  supplying  its  place  in  the  minds  of  meu  long  before  it 
was  generally  accepted. 

There  is  thus  no  real  distinction  between  the  Emilian  or  Ulpian 
basilicas  and  those  which  Constantine  erected  for  the  use  of  the  early 
Christian  republic.  Nor  is  it  possible,  in  such  a  series  as  the  Pan- 
theon, the  Temple  of  Minerva  Medica,  and  the  Church  of  San  Vitale 
at  Ravenna,  to  point  out  what  })art  really  belongs  to  Pagan  and  what 
to  Christian  art. 

It  is  true  that  Constantine  fixed  the  epoch  of  completed  transition 
and  gave  it  form  and  substance  ;  but  long  before  his  time  Paganism 
was  impossible  and  a  reform  inevitable.  The  feeling  of  the  world  had 
changed  —  its  form  of  utterance  followed  as  a  matter  of  course. 

Viewed  in  this  light,  it  is  impossible  to  se})arate  the  early  history 
of  Christian  art  from  that  of  Imperial  Rome.  The  sequence  is  so 
immediate  and  the  change  so  gradual,  that  a  knowledge  of  the  first  is 
absolutely  indispensable  to  a  riglit  understanding  of  the  second. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  connected  with  the  early  history 
of  the  Christian  religion  is,  that  neither  its  Founder  nor  any  of  His 
more  immediate  successors  left  any  s])ecific  directions  either  as  to  the 
liturgical  forms  of  worship  to  be  observed  by  His  followers,  nor  laid 
down  any  rules  to  be  observed  in  the  government  of  the  newly 
established  church.  Under  these  circumstances  it  was  left  almost 
wholly  to  those  to  whose  care  the  infant  congregation  was  entrusted 
to  frame  such  regulations  for  its  guidance  as  the  exigencies  of  the 
occasion  might  dictate,  and  gradually  to  appoint  such  forms  of 
worship  as  might  seem  most  suitable  to  express  the  purity  of  the 
new  faith,  but  at  the  same  time  with  a  dignity  befitting  its  high 
mission. 

In  Judea,  these  ceremonies,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  were 
strongly  tinctured  with  the  forms  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation  ;  but  it 
appears  to  have  been  in  Africa,  and  more  esjDCcially  in  the  pomp-loving 
and  ceremonious  Egypt,  that  fixed  liturgies  and  rites  first  became  an 
integral  part  of  the  Christian  religion.  In  those  countries  far  from 
the  central  seat  of  government,  more  liberty  of  conscience  seems  to 
have  been  attained  at  an  early  period  than  would  have  been  tolerated 
in  the  capital.  Before  the  time  of  Constantine  they  possessed  not  only 
churches,  but  a  regularly  established  hierarchy  and  a  form  of  worship 
similar  to  what  afterwards  obtained  throughout  the  whole  Christian 
world.  The  form  of  the  government  of  the  church,  however,  was 
long  unsettled.  At  first  it  seems  merely  to  have  been  that  the  most 
respected  individuals  of  each  isolated  congregation  were  selected  to 
form  a  council  to  advise  and  direct  their  fellow-Christians,  to  receive 
and  dispense  their  alms,  and,  under  the  simple  but  revered  title  of 
Presbyters,  to  act  as  fathers  rather  than  as  governors  to  the  scattered 
communities  by  which  they  were  elected.  The  idea,  however,  of  such 
VOL.  I.— 26 


402 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


a  council  naturally  includes  that  of  a  president  to  guide  their  deliber- 
ations and  give  unity  and  force  to  their  decisions ;  and  such  we  soon 
find  springing  up  uiider  the  title  of  Bishops,  or  Presbyter  Bishops,  as 
they  were  first  called.  During  the  course  of  the  second  century  the 
latter  institution  seems  gradually  to  have  gained  strength  at  the 
expense  of  the  power  of  the  Presbyters,  whose  delegate  the  Bishop 
was  assumed  to  be.  In  that  capacity  the  Bishops  not  only  took 
upon  themselves  the  general  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the  church, 
but  formed  themselves  into  separate  councils  and  syno  Is,  meeting 
in  the  provincial  capitals  of  the  provinces  where  they  were  located. 
These  meetings  took  place  under  the  presidency  of  the  Bishop  of 
the  city  in  which  they  met,  who  thus  assumed  to  be  the  chief  or 
metropolitan.  These  formed  a  new  presbytery  above  the  older  insti- 
tution which  was  thus  gradually  superseded  —  to  be  again  surpassed 
by  the  great  councils  which,  after  the  age  of  Constantine,  formed  the 
supreme  governing  body  of  the  church ;  performing  the  functions  of 
the  earlier  provmcial  synods  with  more  extended  authority,  though 
with  less  unanimity  and  regularity  than  had  characterized  the  earlier 
institution. 

It  was  thus  that  during  the  first  three  centuries  of  its  existence  the 
Christian  community  was  formed  into  a  vast  fe(^eral  republic,  governed 
by  its  own  laws,  administered  by  its  own  oflicers,  acknowledging  no 
community  with  the  heathen  and  no  authority  in  the  constituted 
secular  powers  of  the  state.  But  at  the  same  time  the  hierarchy 
admitted  a  participation  of  rights  to  the  general  body  of  the  faithful 
from  whom  they  were  chosen,  and  whose  delegation  was  still  admitted 
to  be  their  title  to  oflice. 

AYhen,  in  the  time  of  Constantine,  this  persecuted  and  scattered 
church  emerged  from  the  Catacombs  to  bask  in  the  sunshine  of  Im- 
perial favor,  there  were  no  buildings  in  Rome  which  could  be  found 
more  suited  for  their  purpose  than  the  basilicas  of  the  ancient  city. 
They  were  designed  and  erected  for  the  transaction  of  the  affairs  of 
the  heathen  Empire,  and  were  in  consequence  eminently  suited  for  the 
convenience  of  the  Christian  republic,  which  then  aspired  to  supersede 
its  fallen  rival,  and  replace  it  by  a  younger  and  better  institution. 

In  the  basilicas  the  whole  congregation  of  the  faithful  could  meet 
and  take  part  in  the  transaction  of  the  business  going  on.  The  bishop 
naturally  took  the  place  previously  occupied  by  the  praetor  or  quaestor, 
the  presbyters  those  of  the  assessors.  The  altar  in  front  of  the  apse, 
where  the  pious  heathen  poured  out  libations  at  the  commencement 
and  conclusion  of  all  important  business,  served  equally  for  the  cele- 
bration of  Christian  rites,  and  with  the  fewest  possible  changes,  either 
in  the  form  of  the  ceremonies  or  in  the  nature  of  the  business  trans- 
acted therein,  the  basilica  of  the  heathen  became  the  ecclesia  or  place 
of  assembly  of  the  early  Christian  community. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


BASILICAS. 


40a 


In  addition,  however,  to  the  rectangular  basilica,  which  was 
essentially  the  place  of  meeting  for  the  transaction  of  the  business  of 
the  church,  the  Christian  community  early  adopted  a  circular-formed 
edifice  as  a  ceremonial  or  sacramental  adjunct  to  the  basilica.  These 
were  copied  fi-om  the  Roman  tombs  above  described,  and  were  in  fact 
frequently  built  for  the  sepulchres  of  distinguished  persons ;  but  they 
were  also  used  at  a  very  early  date  as  baptisteries,  as  well  as  for  the 
performance  of  funereal  rites.  It  does  not  appear  that  baptism,  the 
marriage  rites,  or  indeed  any  of  the  sacraments,  were  performed  in 
the  earliest  ages  in  the  basilica,  though  in  after  ages  a  font  was  intro- 
duced even  into  cathedrals.  The  rectangular  churcli  became  ulti- 
mately the  only  form  used.  In  the  earlier  ages,  however,  a  complete 
ecclesiastical  establishment  ^consisted  of  a  basilica  and  a  baptistery,, 
independent  of  one  another  and  seldom  ranged  symmetrically,  though 
the  tendency  seems  to  have  been  to  place  the  round  church  opposite 
the  western  or  principal  entrance  of  the  basilica. 

Though  this  was  the  case  in  the  capital  and  other  great  cities,  it 
was  otherwise  before  the  time  of  Constantine  in  the  provinces.  There 
the  Christian  communities  existed  as  members  of  a  religious  sect  long 
before  they  aspired  to  political  power  or  dreamt  of  superseding  the 
secular  form  of  government  by  combination  among  themselves.  In 
the  remote  ])arts  of  the  Em])ire,  in  the  earliest  ages,  they  consequently 
built  for  themselves  churches  whicli  were  temples,  or,  in  other  words, 
houses  of  prayer,  designed  for  and  devoted  wholly  to  the  celebration 
of  religious  rites,  as  in  the  Pagan  temples,  and  without  any  reference 
to  the  government  of  the  community  or  the  transaction  of  the  business 
of  the  assembly.  If  any  such  existed  in  Italy  or  any  other  part  of 
Europe,  they  either  perished  in  the  various  persecutions  to  which  the 
Christians  were  exposed  when  located  near  the  seat  of  government,  or 
they  became  hallowed  by  the  memories  of  the  times  of  martyrdom, 
and  were  rebuilt  in  happier  days  with  greater  magnificence,  so  that 
little  or  no  trace  of  the  original  buildings  now  remains.  So  long, 
therefore,  as  our  researches  were  confined  to  European  examples,  tlie 
history  of  Christian  arcliitecture  began  with  Constantine ;  but  recent 
researches  in  Africa  have  shown  that,  when  properly  explored,  we 
shall  certainly  be  able  to  carry  the  history  of  the  Romanesque  style 
in  that  country  back  to  a  date  at  least  a  century  before  his  time.  In 
Syria  and  Asia  Minor,  so  many  early  examples  have  come  to  light  that 
it  seems  probable  that  we  may,  before  long,  carry  the  history  of 
Byzantine  art  back  to  a  date  nearly  approaching  that  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  by  Titus.  It  is,  however,  only  so  recently  that  the 
attention  of  ecclesiologists  has  been  directed  to  the  early  examples  of 
Christian  architecture,  that  it  is  not  yet  possible  to  grasp  completely 
the  whole  bearing  of  the  subject ;  but  enough  is  known  to  show  how 
nmch  the  progress  of  research  may  modify  the  views  hitherto  enter- 


404 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Plan   of  C'hui 

Djeinla.  Scale  ;">() 
ft.  to  1  in. 


taiiied  on  tlie  subject.  Meaiivv^hile  too  much  attention  can  hardly  be 
bestowed  upon  it,  as  it  is  by  means  of  these  early  specimens  of  archi- 
tectural art  that  we  shall  probably  be  best  able  to  recover  the  primi- 
tive forms  of  the  Christian  liturgical  observance. 

One  of  the  most  ancient  as  well  as  interesting  of  the  African 
churches  which  has  yet  been  brought  to  light  is 
that  at  Djemla.  It  is  a  sim})le  rectangle,  inter- 
nally 92  ft.  by  52,  divided  longitudinally  with 
three  aisles,  the  centre  one  of  which  terminates 
in  a  square  cella  or  choir,  which  seems  to  liave 
been  enclosed  up  to  the  roof ;  but  the  building 
is  so  ruined  that  this  cannot  be  known  for  a  cer- 
tainty. Though  so  exceptional,  it  is  not  difficult 
to  see  whence  the  form  was  derived.  If  we  take 
such  a  ])lan,  for  instance,  as  that  of  the  Maison 
Carre,  at  Nimes  (AVoodcut  No.  187),  and  build  a 
wall  round  and  put  a  roof  over  it,  so  as  to  make 
a  building  whicli  was  originally  appropriated  to 
external  worshi])  suitable  for  internal  religious 
purposes,  we  should  have  exactly  such  a  result  as  this.  The  cella 
must  be  diminished  in  extent,  the  pillars  more  widely  spaced,  and  the 
front  row  converted  into  a  wall  in  which  the  entrances  would  -be 
usually  placed.  In  this  instance  the  one  entrance,  for  some  local 
reason,  is  lateral.  The  whole  floor  of  the  church  is  covered  with  a 
mosaic  so  purely  classical  in  style  of  execution  as  to  leave  no  doubt 
as  to  its  early  date. 

A  more  common  form  is  shown  in  the  annexed  woodcut,  repre- 
senting a  small  church  at  Announa,  like- 
wise in  Algeria,  about  45  ft.  square, 
divided  into  three  aisles,  and  with  a  pro- 
jecting apse.  If  we  turn  to  the  plan  of 
the  Temple  of  Mars  Ultor  (Woodcut  No. 
186),  we  see  at  once  whence  this  form 
was  derived .  It  only  requires  the  lateral 
columns  to  be  brought  slightly  forward 
to  effect  the  requisite  change.  When  the 
building  was  to  be  used  by  a  congrega- 
tion, and  not  merely  for  display,  the 
pillars  would  require  to  be  more  widely 
spaced. 

A  third  form,  from  Ibrim  in  Nubia, 
shows  the  peculiarity  of  the  apse  being 
internal,  which  became  very  fashionable  in  the  Eastern,  though  not 
60  much  so  in  the  Western,  churches,  but  still  sufficiently  so  to  make 
its  introduction  at  this  early  age  worthy  of  notice.    The  building 


269.   Plan  of  Church  at  Announa. 
Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


BASILICAS. 


405 


270.  Plan  of  Church  at 
Ibrim  iii  Nubia.  No 
scale. 


is  small,  being  only  57  ft.  in  Icngtli  externally,  but  is  remarkable 
for  being  built  with  something  of  the  solidity  of  the  Egyptian  edi- 
fices among  which  it  stands. 

The  next  example  whicli  it  may  be  necessary  to  quote  to  make 
this  early  form  intelligible,  is  that  of  the  church 
of  St.  Keparatus,  near 
Orleansville  —  the  ancient 
Castellum  Tingitanum. 
According  to  an  inscription 


still  existing,  it  was  erected 
A.  D.  252.  but  the  second 
apse  seems  to  have  been 
added  afterwards,  about 
the  year  403,  to  contain 
the  grave  of  the  saint.  As 
it  now  stands,  it  is  a  double- 


apsed  basilica  80  ft.  long  by   271.    Plan  of  Basilica  at 

52  broad,  divided  into  five  sca??50^frto  I'in. 
aisles,  and  exhibiting  on  a 
miniature  scale  all  the  peculiarities  of  plan  which  we  have  hitherto 
fancied  were  not  adopted  until  some  centuries  later.  In  this  in- 
stance both  the  apses  are  internal,  so  that  the  side-aisles  are  longer 
than  the  centre  one,  no  portion  of  them  appearing  to  have  been 
cut  off  for  calcidica  or  vestries,  as  was  very  generally  the  case  in  this 
age. 

Another  example,  very  much  like  this  in  arrangement,  but  on  a 
larger  scale,  is  found  at  Ermet,  the  ancient  Hermonthis  in  Egypt. 
It  measures  over  all  150  ft.  by  90,  and,  if  the  plan  in  the  great  French 
work  ^  is  to  be  depended  upon,  is  one  of  the  most  complete  examples 
of  its  class.  It  has  four  ranges  of  columns,  taken  apparently  from 
more  ancient  examples,  and  two  apses  with  all  the  usual  appur- 
tenances. 

Another  two-aisled  and  single-apse  church,  measuring  100  feet  by 
65,  called  Dyer  Abou  Taneh,  as  represented  in  the  same  work  ;  2  but 
])erhaps  the  most  interesting  of  these  churches  is  that  known  as  the 
White  Convent,  situated  on  the  edge  of  the  Libyan  Desert,  above 
Siout.  Externally  it  measures  215  ft.  by  122,  and  is  enclosed  in  a 
solid  wall,  surmounted  by  an  Egyptian  cornice,  so  that  it  looks  much 
more  like  an  ancient  temple  than  a  Christian  church.  Originally  it 
had  six  doors,  but  all  are  now  walled  up,  except  one  in  the  centre  of  the 
southern  face ;  and  above,  a  series  of  small  openings,  like  loopholes, 
admitted  light  to  apartments  which  apparently  occupied  the  upper 
story  of   lateral  corridors.    Light  to  the  church  was,  of  course, 


1  "  Antiquites,"  vol.  i.  pi.  97. 


2  Eodem,  vol.  iv.  pi.  67. 


406 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


admitted  through  the  clerestory,  which  could  easily  be  done  ;  and 
altogether  as  a  fortified  and  mysterious  abode,  and  place  of 
worship  of  ascetics,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  appropriate 
example. 

The  age  of  this  church  is  not  very  well  ascertained  ;  popularly 
it  is,  like  so  many  others,  ascribed  to  Sta. 
Helena,  and  the  double  aisles  and  triapsal 
arrangements  are  so  like  her  church  at 
Bethlehem,  that  there  is  no  a  priori  improl)- 
ability  in  the  assumption.  The  plan,  how- 
ever, is  more  complicated  and  complete,  and 
its  external  form  bespeaks  of  troublous  times, 
so  that  altogether  it  is  probably  a  century  or 
two  (the  monks  say  140  years)  more  modern. 
Like  other  churches  of  its  class,  ancient  mate- 
rials have  been  so  used  up  with  those  pre- 
pared at  the  time,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult 
to  ascertain  the  dates  of  such  buildings.  If, 
however,  any  one  with  sufficient  knowledge 
would  make  a  special  study  of  these  Egyptian 
churches,  he  would  add  one  of  the  most 
interesting  chapters  to  our  history  of  early 
Christian  Architecture,  and  explain  many 
ritual  arrangements  whose  origin  is  now  involved  in  mystery ;  but 
for  this  we  must  wait.  The  materials  are  not  at  present  available, 
all  travellers  in  Egypt  being  so  attracted  by  the  surpassing  interest 
of  the  Pagan  remains  of  that  country,  as  liardly  to  find  time  for  a 
glance  at  the  Christian  antiquities. 


272.    White  Convent  near 
Siout.    (From  a  plan  by  the 
Hon.  Sir  Arthur  Gordon.) 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


It  was  ])robably  in  a  great  measure  owing  to  the  influence  of  these 
provincial  examples  that  the  arrangements  of  the  metropolitan  basi- 
licas were  not  long  allowed  to  retain  the  form  above  described,  tliougli 
more  was  probably  due  to  the  change  which  was  gradually  taking 
place  in  the  constitution  of  the  governing  body  of  the  Chui'ch.  The 
early  arrangements  of  the  Christian  basilica,  as  copied  from  the  secular 
forms  of  the  Pagan  places  of  assembly,  soon  became  unsuited  to  the 
more  exclusively  religious  purposes  to  which  they  were  to  be  appro- 
priated. The  now  dominant  hierarchy  of  Rome  soon  began  to  repudiate 
the  republicanism  of  the  early  days  of  the  Church,  and  to  adopt  from 
the  East  the  convenient  doctrine  of  the  absolute  separation  of  the  con- 
gregation into  clergy  and  laity.  To  accommodate  the  basilica  to  this 
new  state  of  things,  first  the  apse  was  railed  off  and  appropriated 
wholly  to  the  use  of  the  clergy  :  then  the  whole  of  the  dais,  or  raised 
part  in  front  of  the  apse  on  which  the  altar  stood,  was  separated  by 
pillars,  called  cancelli,  and  in  like  manner  given  up  wholly  to  the 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  IL 


BASILICAS. 


407 


clergy,  and  was  not  allowed  to  be  profaned  by  the  presence  of  the 
unordained  multitude. 

The  last  great  change  was  the  introduction  of  a  choir,  or  enclosed 
space  in  the  centre  of  the  nave,  attached  to  tlie  bema  or  presbytery^  as 
the  raised  space  came  to  be  called.  Round  three  sides  of  this  choir  the 
faithful  were  allowed  to  congregate  to  hear  the  Gospels  or  Epistles 
read  from  the  two  pulpits  or  ambones^  which  were  built  into  its 
enclosure,  one  on  eitlier  side ;  or  to  hear  the  services  which  were 
read  or  sung  by  the  inferior  order  of  clergy  who  occupied  its 
precincts. 

The  enclosure  of  the  choir  was  kept  low,  so  as  not  to  hide  the  view 
of  the  raised  presbytery,  or  to  prevent  the  congregation  from  witnessing 
the  more  sacred  mysteries  of  the  faith  which  were  there  performed  by 
the  higher  order  of  clergy. 

Another  important  modification,  though  it  entailed  no  architec- 
tural change,  was  the  introduction  of  the  bodies  of  the  saints  in  whose 
honor  the  building  was  erected  into  the  basilica  itself,  and  depositing 
them  in  a  confessional  or  crypt  below  the  high  altar. 

There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  a  separate  circular  building, 
or  proper  tomb,  was  originally  erected  over  the  grave  or  place  of  mar- 
tyrdom, and  the  basilica  was  sanctified  merely  by  its  propinquity  to 
the  sacred  spot.  Afterwards  the  practice  of  depositing  the  relics  of  the 
saint  beneath  the  floor  became  universally  the  rule.  At  about  the  same 
time  the  baptistery  was  also  absorbed  into  the  basilica ;  and  instead 
of  standing  opposite  the  western  entrance,  a  font  placed  within  the 
western  doors  supplied  its  place.  This  last  change  was  made  earlier 
at  Rome  than  elsewhere.  It  is  not  known  at  what  exact  period  the 
alteration  was  introduced,  but  it  is  probable  that  the  whole  was  coui- 
})leted  before  the  age  of  Gregory  the  Great. 

It  was  thus  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  centuries  the  basilicas 
aggregated  within  themselves  all  the  offices  of  the  Roman  Church,  and 
became  the  only  acknowledged  ecclesiastical  buildings — either  as  j^laces 
for  the  assembly  of  the  clergy  for  the  administration  of  the  sacraments 
and  the  performance  of  divine  worship,  or  for  the  congregation  of  the 
faithful. 

None  of  the  basilican  churches,  either  of  Rome  or  the  provinces, 
possess  these  arrangements  exactly  as  they  were  originally  established 
in  the  fourth  or  fifth  century.  The  church  of  San  Clemente,  however, 
retains  them  so  nearly  in  their  primitive  form  that  a  short  description 
of  it  may  tend  to  make  what  follows  more  easily  intelligible.  This 
basilica  seems  to  have  been  erected  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  century 
over  what  was  supposed  to  be  the  house  in  which  the  saint  of 
that  name  resided.  Recently  a  subterranean  church  or  crypt  has 
been  discovered,  which  must  of  course  be  more  ancient  than  the 


408 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


present  remains.^  Above  this  subterranean  church  stands  the  edifice 
shown  in  the  accompanying  plan  (Woodcut  No.273),  nearly  one-third 
less  in  size,  being  only  65  ft.  wide  internally,  against 
93  of  the  original  church,  though  both  were  about  the 
same  length. 

It  is  one  of  the  few  that  still  possesses  an  atrium 
or  courtyard  in  front  of  the  principal  entrance,  though 
there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  this  was  considered 
at  that  early  age  a  most  important,  if  not  indeed 
an  indispensable,  attribute  to  the  church  itself.  As 
a  feature  it  may  have  been  derived  from  the  East, 
where  we  know  it  was  most  common,  and  where  it 
afterwards  became,  with  only  the  slightest  possible 
modifications,  the  mosque  of  the  Moslems.  It  would 
seem  even  more  probable,  however,  that  it  is  only  a 
rej)etition  of  the  forum^  which  was  always  attached 
to  the  Pagan  basilica,  and  through  which  it  was 
always  entered  ;  and  for  a  sepulchral  church  at  least 
273.    Plan  of  the  notliino'  could  be  more  ap])ropriate,  as  the  orisinal 

Church     of    San  .    ^ .  Ill'  & 

cieiiK-iiteatRoine.  application  of  the  word  forum  seems  to  have  been 

(From  (iutensoliu     ^  ^  .  . 

and  Knapp.)2       to  the  opcn  area  that  existed  in  front  of  tombs  as  well 

Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in.  ^        .  i  • 

as  of  other  im])ortant  buildings.^ 

In  the  centre  of  this  atrium  there  generally  stood  a  fountain  or 
tank  of  water,  not  only  as  an  emblem  of  purity,  but  that  those  who 
came  to  the  churcli  might  wash  their  hands  before  entering  the  holy 
])lace  —  a  custom  which  seems  to  have  given  rise  to  the  practice  of 
dip])ing  the  fingers  in  the  holy  water  of  the  piscina,  now  universal  in 
all  Catholic  countries. 

The  colonnade  next  the  church  was  frequently  the  only  represent- 
ative of  the  atrium,  and  then  —  perhaj)s  indeed  always  —  was  called  the 
')UArthex,  or  place  for  penitents  or  persons  who  had  not  yet  acquired  the 
rialit  of  enterinsf  the  church  itself. 


1  The  older  cluircli  lias  been  so  altered 
and  ruined  by  the  subsequent  rebuildings 
that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  make  out 
its  history.  It  seems,  however,  to  have 
been  built  originally  above  the  site  of  an 
old  Mithraic  temple,  which  has  recently 
been  cleared  out,  and  probably  before  the 
time  of  Gregory  the  Great.  It  was  ap- 
parently rebuilt,  or  nearly  so,  by  Adrian 
I.,  772,  and  burnt  by  Robert  Guiscard, 
1084.  The  upper  church  seems  to  have 
been  erected  by  Paschal,  1099-1118.  The 
question  is,  to  what  age  do  the  frescoes 
found  on  the  walls  of  the  older  church 
belong  ?  Some  of  the  heads  and  single 
figures  may,  I  fancy,  be  anterior  even  to 


the  time  of  Adrian;  but  the  bulk  of  the 
paintings  seems  certainly  to  have  been 
added  between  his  age  and  1084,  and 
nearer  the  latter  than  the  former  date. 
If  it  had  not  been  entirely  ruined  in  1084 
Paschal  would  not  have  so  completely 
obliterated  it  a  centuiy  afterwards.  A 
considerable  quantity  of  the  materials  of 
the  old  church  were  used  in  the  new, 
which  tends  further  to  confuse  the 
chronology. 

2  Gutensohn  and  Knapp,  "Die  Basil- 
iken  des  Christlichen  Roms." 

3  Cicero  de  Legg.,  ii.  24;  Festus,  s. 
V. ;  Smith's  "  Dictionary  of  Classical 
Antiquities." 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


BASILICAS. 


409 


From  this  narthex  three  doorways  generally  opened  into  the  church, 
corresponding  with  the  three  aisles;  and  if  the  building  possessed  a 
font,  it  ought  to  have  been  placed  in  one  of  the  chapels  on  either  the 
right  or  the  left  hand  of  the  principal  entrance. 

The  choir,  with  its  two  pulpits,  is  shown  in  the  plan  —  that  on  the 
left-hand  side  being  the  pulpit  of  the  Epistle,  that  on  the  right  of  the 
Gospel.  The  railing  of  the  heyna  or  presbytery  is  also  marked,  so  is 
the  position  of  the  altar  with  its  canopy  supported  on  four  pillars,  and 
behind  that  the  throne  of  the  bishop,  with  the  seats  of  the  inferior 
clergy  surrounding  the  apse  on  either  side. 

Besides  the  church  of  San  Clemente  there  are  at  least  thirty  other 
basilican  churches  in  Rome,  extending  in  date  from  the  4th  to  the  14th 
century.  Their  names  and  dates,  as  far  as  they  have  been  ascertained, 
are  set  forth  in  the  accompanying  list,  which,  though  not  altogether 
complete,  is  still  the  best  we  possess,  and  is  sufficient  for  our  present 
purpose.! 

BASILICAS  OF  ROME. 


FOURTH  CENTURY. 

St.  Peter's  Constantine  (5  aisled) .    .    .  about  330 

San  Giovanni  Laterano     ....  Ditto  founded  333  ? 

St.  Paul's  Theodosius  and  Honorius( 5  aisled)  38(5 

St  A.  Pudentiana   335  ? 


FIFTH  CENTURY. 

Sta.  Sabina  Pope  Celestine  about  425 

Sta.  Maria  Maggiore  Pope  Sixtus  III  432 

St.  Pietro  ad  Vincula  Eudoxis  (Greek  Doric  pillars)  .    .  442 


SIXTH  CENTURY. 

San  Lorenzo  (old  part)  Pope  Pelagius  (galleries)     .    .  .580 

Sta.  Balbina  Gregory  the  Great  (no  side-aisles)  600 


SEVENTH  CENTURY. 

Sta.  Agnese   Honorius  I.  (galleries)    ....  625 

QuATTRo  CoRONATi  Honorius  1  625 

St.  Giorgio  in  Velabro  Leo  II  682 

San  Chrisogono  Gregory  III  730 


EIGHTH  CENTURY. 

S.  GioVANNA  A  PORTA  Patina  .    .    .  Adrian  1   790  ? 

S.  Maria  in  Cosmedin  790 

S.  ViNCENZO  ALLE  TRE  FoNTANE  790 

S.  Lorenzo  (nave)  about  790? 


1  It  is  copied,  with  slight  alterations, 
from  the  work  of  the  Chevalier  Bunsen 
on  the  Roman  Basilicas,  which,  with  the 
illustrations  of  Gutensohn  and  Knapp, 
forms  by  far  the  best  work  on  the  sub- 
ject that  has  yet  been  given  to  the  world ; 


though  some  of  the  dates  assigned  to 
the  buildings  are  still  matters  of  dispute, 
but  not  to  any  material  extent.  Those 
here  given  generally  refer  to  the  building 
now  existing  or  known,  and  not  always 
to  the  original  foundation. 


410 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


NINTH  CENTURY. 

SS.  Nereo  ED  AcHiLLEO  Leo  III  about  800 

8.  Praxede  Paschal  1  820 

JS.  Maria  in  Dominica  820 

8.  Martino  ai  Monti  Sergius  and  Leo   844,  855 

S.  NicoLO  in  Carcere  about  900 

8.  Bartolomeo  in  Isola  900 

TENTH  CENTURY. 
S.  Giovanni  in  Laterano    ....  Rebuilt  by  Sergius  III  910 

ELEVENTH  CENTURY. 
Nothing, 

TWELFTH  CENTURY. 

S.  Clemente  Paschal   1118 

8.  Maria  in  Trastevere     ....   Innocent  II  1135 

8.  Croce  Lucius  1144 

8.  Maria  in  Ara  Celi  uncertain 

THIRTEENTH  CENTURY. 
Nothing. 

FOURTEENTH  CENTURY. 
S.  Maria  sopra  Minerva    ....  Gothic  about  1370 

FIFTEENTH  CENTURY. 
8.  AoosTiNo  Renaissance  ?  about  1480 


Three  of  these,  St.  Peter's,  St.  Paul's,  and  the  Lateran  church,  have 
five  aisles,  all  the  rest  three,  witli  only  one  insignificant  exception,  Sta. 
Balbina,  which  has  no  side-aisles.  Two,  Sta.  Agnese  and  the  old  part 
of  St.  Lorenzo,  liave  their  side-aisles  in  two  stories,  all  the  rest  are 
only  one  story  in  height,  and  the  side-aisles  generally  are  half  the 
width  of  the  central  aisle  or  nave.  Some  of  the  more  modern  churches 
have  the  side-aisles  vaulted,  but  of  tliose  in  the  list  all  except  the  two 
last  have  flat  wooden  ceilings  over  the  central  compartment,  and 
generally  speaking  the  plain  unornamental  construction  of  the  roof  is 
exposed.  It  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  originally  they  were  ceiled 
in  some  more  ornamental  manner,  as  the  art  of  ornamenting  this  new 
style  of  open  construction  seems  to  have  been  introduced  at  a  later 
date. 

Of  the  two  last-named,  the  Sta.  Maria  sopra  Minerva  might  perhaps 
be  more  properly  classed  among  the  buildings  belonging  to  the  Italian 
Gothic  style ;  but  as  it  is  the  only  one  in  Rome  that  has  any  claim  to 
such  a  distinction,  it  is  hardly  worth  while  making  it  an  exception 
to  the  rest.  The  San  Agostino  might  also  be  called  a  Renaissance 
specimen.  It  certainly  is  a  transitional  specimen  between  the  pillared 
and  pilastered  styles,  which  were  then  struggling  for  mastery.  It 
may  either  be  regarded  as  the  last  of  the  old  race  or  the  first  of  the 
new  style,  which  was  so  soon  destined  to  revolutionize  the  architectural 
world. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


BASILICAS. 


411 


274.   Plan  of  the  original  Basilica  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome.    (From  Gutensohn  and  Knapp.) 

Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


412 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  IL 


St.  Peter's. 

Of  the  other  examples  the  oldest  was  the  finest.  This  great 
basilica  was  erected  in  the  reign  of  Constantine,  close  to  the  circus 
of  Nero,  where  tradition  affirmed  that  St.  Peter  had  suffered  martyr- 
dom. It  unfortunately  was  entirely  swept  away  to  make  room  for 
the  greatest  of  Christian  temples,  which  now  occupies  its  site  ;  but 
previous  to  its  destruction  careful  measurements  and  drawings  were 
made  of  every  part,  from  which  it  is  easy  to  understand  all  its 
arrangements  — •  easier  perhaps  than  if  it  had  remained  to  the 
present  day,  and  four  centuries  more  of  reform  and  improvements 
had  assisted  in  altering  and  disfiguring  its  venerable  frame. 

As  will  be  seen  in  the  plan  (Woodcut  No.  274),  drawn  to  the 
usual  scale,  it  possessed  a  noble  atrium  or  forecourt,  212  ft.  by  235,  in 
front  of  which  were  some  bold  masses  of  building,  which  during  the 
Middle  Ages  were  surmounted  by  two  belfry-towers.  The  church  itself 
was  212  ft.  in  width  by  380  in  length,  covering,  without  its  adjuncts, 
an  area  of  above  80,000  English  feet,  which,  though  less  than  half 
the  size  of  the  present  cathedral,  is  as  large  as  that  covered  by  any 
mediaeval  cathedral  except  those  of  Milan  and  Seville.  The  cen- 
tral aisle  was  about  80  ft.  across  (about  twice  the  average  width  of 
a  Gothic  nave),  and  nearly  the  same  as  that  of  the  basilica  of  Maxentius 
and  the  principal  halls  of  the  greater  thermae.  For  some  reason  or 
other  this  dimension  seems  to  have  been  a  modulus  very  generally 
adopted.  The  bema  or  sanctuary,  answering  to  the  Gothic  transept, 
extended  beyond  the  walls  of  the  church  either  way,  which  was  un- 
usual in  Romanesque  buildings.  The  object  here  seems  to  have  been 
to  connect  it  with  the  tombs  on  its  north  side.  The  arrangement  of 
the  sanctuary  was  also  peculiar,  having  been  adorned  with  twelve 
pillars  supporting  a  gallery.  These,  when  symbolism  became  the 
fashion,  were  said  to  represent  the  twelve  apostles.  This  certainly 
was  not  their  original  intent,  as  at  first  only  six  were  put  up  —  the 
others  added  afterwards.  The  sanctuary  and  choir  were  here  singu- 
larly small  and  contracted,  as  if  arranged  before  the  clergy  became  so 
numerous  as  they  afterwards  were,  and  before  the  laity  were  excluded 
from  this  part  of  the  church. 

The  general  internal  appearance  of  the  building  w^ill  be  understood 
from  the  following  woodcut  (No.  275),  which  presents  at  one  view  all 
the  peculiarities  of  the  basilican  buildings.  The  pillars  separating  the 
central  from  the  side  aisles  appear  to  have  been  of  uniform  dimensions, 
and  to  have  supported  a  horizontal  entablature,  above  which  rose  a 
double  range  of  panels,  each  containing  a  picture  —  these  panels  thus 
taking  the  place  of  what  was  the  triforium  in  Gothic  churches.  Over 
these  was  the  clerestory,  and  again  an  ornamental  belt  gave  sufficient 
elevation  for  the  roof,  which  in  this  instance  showed  the  naked 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


BASILICAS. 


413 


construction.  On  the  whole  perhaps  the  ratio  of  height  to  widtli  is 
unexceptionable,  but  the  height  over  the  pillars  is  so  great  that  they 
are  made  to  look  utterly  insignificant,  which  indeed  is  the  great  defect 
in  the  architectural  design  of  these  buildings,  and,  though  seldom  so 
offensive  as  here,  is  apparent  in  all.  The  ranges  of  columns  dividing 
the  side-aisles  were  joined  by  arches,  which  is  a  more  common  as  welL 


as  a  better  arrangement,  as  it  not  only  adds  to  the  height  of  the  pillarsy, 
but  gives  them  an  apparent  power  of  bearing  the  superstructure.  At 
some  period  during  the  Middle  Ages  the  outer  aisles  were  vaulted, 
and  Gothic  windows  introduced  into  them.  This  change  seems  to 
have  necessitated  the  closing  of  the  intermediate  range  of  clerestory 
windows,  which  probably  was  by  no  means  conducive  to  the  general; 
architectural  effect  of  the  building. 


414 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Externally  this  basilica,  like  all  those  of  its  age,  must  have  been 
singularly  deficient  in  beauty  or  in  architectural  design.  The  sides 
were  of  plain  unplastered  brick,  the  windows  were  ])lain  arch-headed 
openings.  The  front  alone  was  ornamented,  and  this  only  with  two 
ranges  of  windows  somewhat  larger  than  those  at  the  sides,  three  in 
each  tier,  into  which  tracery  was  inserted  at  some  later  period,  and 
between  and  above  these,  various  figures  and  emblems  were  painted  in 
fresco  on  stucco  laid  on  the  brickwork.  The  whole  was  surmounted 
by  that  singular  voxed  cornice  which  seems  to  have  been  universal 
in  Roman  basilicas,  though  not  found  anywhere  else  that  I  am 
aAvare  of. 

The  two  most  interesting  adjuncts  to  this  cathedral  were  the  two 
tombs  standing  to  the  northward.  According  to  the  mediaeval  tra- 
dition the  one  was  the  tomb  of  Honorius  and  his  wives,  the  other  the 
church  of  St.  Andrew.  Their  position,  however,  carefully  centred  on 
the  spine  of  the  circus  of  Nero,  Avhere  the  great  apostle  suffered  mar- 
tyrdom, seems  to  j)oint  to  a  holier  and  more  important  origin.  My 
own  conviction  is  that  they  were  erected  to  mark  the  places  where  the 
apostle  and  his  companions  suffered.  It  is  besides  extremely  improb- 
able that  after  the  erection  of  the  basilica  an  emperor  should  choose 
the  centre  of  a  circus  for  the  burying-j)lace  of  himself  and  his  family, 
or  that  he  should  be  ])ermitted  to  choose  so  hallowed  a  spot.  They  are 
of  exactly  the  usual  tomb-form  of  the  age  of  Constantine,  and  of  the 
largest  size,  being  each  100  ft.  in  diameter. 

The  first  was  destroyed  by  Michael  Angelo,  as  it  stood  on  the  site 
required  for  his  northern  tribune,  the  second  by  Pius  VI.,  in  1770, 
to  make  way  for  the  ])resent  sacristy,  and  Rome  thus  lost,  through 
pure  carelessness,  the  two  oldest  and  most  sacred  edifices  of  the 
Christian  period  Avhich  she  possessed. 

The  most  eastern  had  been  so  altered  and  overlaid,  having  been 
long  used  as  a  sacristy,'  that  it  might  have  been  diflJcult  to  restore  it ; 
but  its  position  and  its  antiquity  certainly  entitled  it  to  a  better  fate. 

St.  Paul's. 

Tlie  church  of  San  Paolo  fuori  le  Mura  was  almost  an  exact 
counterjmrt  of  St.  Peter's  both  in  design  and  dimensions.  The  only 
important  variations  were  that  the  transept  was  made  of  the  same 
width  as  the  central  nave,  or  about  80  ft.,  and  that  the  pillars  sepa- 
rating the  nave  from  the  side  aisles  were  joined  by  arches  instead  of  by 
a  horizontal  architrave.  Both  these  were  undoubted  improvements, 
the  first  giving  space  and  dignity  to  the  bema,  the  latter  not  only 
adding  height  to  the  order,  but  giving  it,  together  with  lightness, 


1  "II  Vavicano  discritto  da  Pistolesi,"  vol.  ii.  pis.  xxiv.  xxv. 


bK.  I.  Ch.  II. 


BASILICAS. 


415 


that  apparent  strength  requisite  to  support  the  high  wall  placed  over 
the  pillars. 

The  order,  too,  was  finer  and  more  important  than  at  St.  Peter's, 
twenty-four  of  the  pillars  being  taken  from  some  temple  or  building 
(it  is  generally  said  the  mausoleum  of  Hadrian)  of  the  best  age  of 
Rome,  though  the  remaining  sixteen  were  unfortunately  only  very 
bad  copies  of  them.  These  pillars  are  33  feet  in  height,  or  one-third 
of  the  whole  height  of  the  building  to  the  roof.  Tn  St.  Peter's  they 
were  only  a  fourth,  and  if  they  had  been  spaced  a  litth'  farther  apart, 


276.   View  of  the  Interior  of  St.  Paul's,  at  Rome,  before  the  fire. 


and  the  arch  made  more  important,  the  most  glaring  defect  of  these 
buildings  would  in  a  great  measure  have  been  avoided. 

Long  before  its  destruction  by  fire  in  1822  this  church  had  been 
so  altered  as  to  lose  many  of  its  most  striking  peculiarities.  The 
bema  or  presbytery  was  divided  into  two  by  a  longitudinal  wall. 
The  greater  number  of  its  clerestory  windows  were  built  up,  its 
atrium  gone,  and  decay  and  whitewash  had  done  much  to  efface  its 
beauty,  which,  nevertheless,  seems  to  have  struck  all  travellers  with 
admiration,  as  combining  in  itself  the  last  reminiscence  of  Pagan 
Rome  with  the  earliest  forms  of  the  Christian  world.  It  certainly 
was  the  most  interesting,  if  not  quite  the  most  beautiful,  of  the 
Christian  buildings  of  that  city.^ 


'  1  The  new  church  which  superseded  this  one  is  described  in  the  author's 
Modern  Architecture,"  page  89,  woodcut  4.5. 


41G 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  IL 


The  third  five-aisled  basilica,  that  of  San  Giovanni  Laterano,  differs 
in  no  essential  respect  from  those  just  described  except  in  dimensions;, 
it  covers  about  60,000  feet,  and  consequently  is  inferior  in  this  respect 
to  the  other  two.  It  has  been  so  completely  altered  in  modern  times 
that  its  primitive  arrangements  can  now  hardly  be  discerned,  nor  can 
their  effect  be  judged  of,  even  assuming  that  they  were  peculiar  to  it,, 
which,  however,  is  by  no  means  certain. 

Like  the  other  two,  it  appears  to  have  been  originally  erected  by 
Constantine,  who  seems  especially  to  have  affected  this  five-aisled 
form.  The  churches  which  he  erected  at  Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem 
both  have  this  number  of  aisles.  From  the  similarity  which  exists  in 
the  design  of  all  these  churches  we  might  easily  restore  this  building, 
if  it  were  worth  while.  Its  dimensions  can  easily  be  traced,  but 
beyond  this  nothing  remains  of  the  original  erection. 

Of  those  with  three  aisles  by  far  the  finest  and  most  beautiful  is 
that  of  Sta.  Maria  Maggiore,  which,  notwithstanding  the  comparative 
sraallness  of  its  dimensions,  is  now  perhaps  the 
best  specimen  of  its  class  remaining.  Internally 
its  dimensions  are  100  feet  in  width  by  250  to  the 
front  of  the  apse ;  the  whole  area  being  about 
32,000  feet ;  so  that  it  is  little  more  than  half  the 
size  of  the  Lateran  church,  and  between  one- 
third  and  one-fourth  of  that  of  the  other  two 
five-aisled  churches. 

Notwithstanding  this  there  is  great  beauty 
in  its  internal  colonnade,  all  the  pillars  of  which 
are  of  one  design,  and  bear  a  most  pleasing  pro- 
portion to  the  superstructure.  The  clerestory, 
too,  is  ornamented  with  pilasters  and  panels, 
making  it  a  part  of  the  general  design ;  and 
with  the  roof,  which  is  panelled  with  constructive 
propriety  and  simplicity,  combined  with  sufii- 
cient  richness,  serves  to  make  up  a  whole  w^hich 
gives  a  far  better  and  more  complete  idea  of 
what  a  basilica  either  was  originally,  or  at  least 
might  have  been,  than  any  other  church  at  Rome. 
It  is  true  that  both  the  pilasters  of  the  clerestory 
toiin-  and  the  roof  are  modern,  and  in  modern  times 

the  colonnade  has  been  broken  through  in  two  places ;  but  these 
defects  must  be  overlooked  in  judging  of  the  whole. 

Another  defect  is  that  the  side-aisles  have  been  vaulted  in  modern 
times,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  destroy  the  harmony  that  should 
exist  between  the  different  parts  of  the  building.  In  striving  to  avoid 
the  defect  of  making  the  superstructure  too  high  in  proportion  to  the 
columns,  the  architect  has  made  the  central  roof  too  low  either  for  th'e- 


& 

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IS 

m 

m 

g; 
@ 

ID 

IS 

IS) 

a 

m 

9 

m 

@ 

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B 

m 

S 

m 

n 

B 

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m 

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m 
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Is) 

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277.    Plan  of  Sta.  Maria 
Maggiore 


Scale  100  ft. 


Bk.  1.  Ch.  II. 


BASILICAS. 


417 


width  or  length  of  the  mam  aisle.  Still  the  building,  as  a  whole,  is 
—  or  rather  was  before  the  completion  of  the  rebuilding  of  St.  PauPs 


278.   View  of  Sta.  Maria  Maggiore.   (From  Guteusohu  and  Knapp.) 


—  the  very  best  of  the  older  wooden-roofed  churches  of  Christendom, 
and  the  best  model  from  which  to  study  the  merits  and  defects  of  this 
style  of  architecture. 


279.    Plan  of  Sta.  Agnese.  280.    Section  of  Sta.  Agnese.    (From  Guteusohn  and 

Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in.  Knapp.)   Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


Another  mode  of  getting  over  the  great  defect  of  high  walls  over 
the  pillars  was  adopted,  as  in  Sta.  Agnese  and  St.  Lorenzo,  of  using  a 
vol..  I.  — 27 


418 


ROISrANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


gallery  corresponding  with  the  triforium  of  Gothic  churches.  In  both 
these  instances  it  seems  to  have  been  suggested,  if  not  required, by  the 
peculiarity  of  the  ground,  which  was  higlier  on  one  side  than  on  the 
other ;  but  whether  this  was  tlie  true  cause  of  its  adoption  or  not, 
the  effect  was  most  satisfactory,  and  had  it  been  persevered  in  so  as- 
to  bring  the  upper  colonnade  more  into  harmony  of  proportion  with 
the  other,  it  would  have  been  attended  with  the  happiest  results  on  the 


L'Sl.    Restored  View  of  the  Interior  of  the  Basilica  of  S.  Lorenzo  fuori  le  Mura. 
(From  Lenoir's  "  Architecture  Monastique.") 


style.  Whether  it  was,  however,  that  the  Romans  felt  the  want  of 
the  broad  plain  space  for  their  paintings,  or  that  they  could  not  bring 
the  upper  arches  in  proportion  with  the  classical  pillars  which  they 
made  use  of,  the  system  was  abandoned  almost  as  soon  as  adopted, 
and  never  came  into  generaj  use. 

It  is  not  now  easy  to  judge  what  the  effect  of  this  was  in  the 
original  church  of  St.  Lorenzo,  owing  to  the  numerous  alterations  it 
has  undergone,  for  the  original  church  of  Constantine  seems  to  have 
been  entirely  swept  away.  That  of  Pelagius  which  we  now  see  is  in 
plan  somewhat  like  that  of  Sta.  Agnese,  only  with  five  pillars  on  each 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


STA.  PU  DENT!  AN  A. 


419 


side  of  the  nave,  borrowed  from  some  ancient  edifice,  instead  of  seven, 
and  these  support  a  horizontal  architrave  instead  of  arches. 

In  the  thirteenth  century  the  apse  was  destroyed  and  a  long- 
nave  added  in  that  direction,  so  that  the  altar  was  placed  where  the 
entrance  was  originally  situated.  Making  due  allowance  for  these 
changes,  it  is  probable  that  the  annexed  woodcut  faithfully  represents 
the  arrangements  of  the  buildhig  as  it  stood  in  the  sixth  century,  and 
is  interesting,  not  only  for  its  own  sake,  but  as  representing  the  class 
of  church  erected  at  Jerusalem  and  elsewhere  at  this  age,  of  which  so 
very  few  specimens  now  exist.  It  contains  also  the  germs  of  much 
that  was  afterwards  reproduced  in  Gothic  churches.  The  upper 
gallery,  after  many  modifications,  at  last  settled  into  a  triforium,  and 
the  pierced  stone  slabs  in  the  windows  became  tracery  —  but  before 
these  were  reached  a  vaulted  roof  was  introduced,  and  with  it  all  the 
features  of  the  style  were  to  a  great  extent  modified. 

The  church  known  as  that  of  Sta.  Pudentiana  is  one  of  the  very 
oldest  and  consequently  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  those  in  Rome. 
It  stands  on  substructions  of  ancient  Roman  date,  which  probably 
formed  part  of  the  Thermae  of  Novatus  or  the  house  of  the  Senator 
Pudens,  who  is  mentioned  by  St.  Paul  at  the  end  of  his  Second 
Epistle  to  Timothy,  and  with  whom  he  is  traditionally  said  to  have 
resided  during  his  sojourn  in  Rome.  The  vaults  beneath  the  church 
certainly  formed  part  of  a  Roman  mansion,  so  apparently  do  those 
buildings,  shown  on  the  plan,  and  placed  behind  and  on  one  side  of 
the  sanctuary ;  but  whether  these  were  used  for  Christian  purposes 
before  the  erection  of  the  church  in  the  fourth  century  is  by  no  means 
certain.    In  plan  the  church  remains  in  all  probability  very  much  as 


\  f-        H  1 

1  ^4 

1    h           ^'  n 

i  1 

-m  P. 

1 

m-::'Mi:z—-z::i 

282.   Plan  of  Sta.  Pudentiana. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


283.    Section  of  Sta.  Pudentiana.  (From 
Hubsch.i)   Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


originally  designed,  its  most  striking  peculiarity  being  the  segmental 
form  of  the  apse,  which  may  possibly  have  arisen  from  some  peculiar 


^  *'  Altchristlichen  Kirchen  nach  Baudenkmalen  und  alteren  Beschreibungen," 
von  D.  Hubsch.    Carlsruhe.  1862. 


420 


KOMANESQUE  AKCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


arrangement  of  tlie  original  building.  It  was  not,  however,  found  to 
be  pleasing  in  an  architectural  point  of  view,  and  was  not  conse 
quently  again  employed. 

The  annexed  section  probably  represents  very  nearly  the  original 

form  of  the  nave,  though  it  has  been 
so  encrusted  w^ith  modern  accretions  as 
to  render  it  difficult  to  ascertain  what 
the  first  form  really  was.  The  shafts 
of  the  pillars  may  have  been  borrowed 
from  some  older  edifice,  but  tlie  capitals 
were  clearly  designed  to  support  arches, 
and  must  therefore  be  early  Christian 
(fourth  century?),  and  are  among  the 
^^'^(p^^m  mxbsdiy ''^^  niost  elegant  and  appropriate  specimens 

of  the  class  now  extant. 
In  some  instances,  as  in  San  Clemente,  above  alluded  to,  in  San 
Pietro  in  Vincula,  and  Sta.  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  the  colonnade  is 
divided  into  spaces  of  three  or  four  intercolumniations  by  blocks  of 
solid  masonry,  which  give  great  apparent  solidity  and  strength  to 
the  building,  but  at  the  expense  of  breaking  it  up  into  compartments 
more  than  is  agreeable,  and  these  destroy  that  beauty  of  perspective 
so  j)leasing  in  a  continuous  colonnade.  This  defect  seems  to  have 
been  felt  in  the  Santa  Praxedf,  where  three  of  these  blocks  are  intro- 
duced in  the  lengtli  of  the  nave,  and  support  each  a  bold  arch  thrown 
across  the  central  aisle.  The  effect  of  this  might  have  been  most 
happy,  as  at  San  Miniato,  near  Florence ;  but  it  has  been  so  clumsily 
managed  in  the  Koman  example,  as  to  be  most  destructive  of  all 
beauty  of  proportion. 

Some  of  the  principal  beauties  as  well  as  some  of  the  most  remark- 
able defects  of  these  basilican  churches  arise  from  the  employment  of 
columns  torn  from  ancient  temples  :  where  this  has  been  done,  the 
beauty  of  the  marble  and  the  exquisite  sculpture  of  the  capitals  and 
friezes,  give  a  richness  and  elegance  to  the  whole  that  go  far  to 
redeem  or  to  liide  the  rudeness  of  the  building  in  which  they  are 
encased.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  discrepancy  between  the  pillars 
—  Doric,  Ionic,  and  Corinthian  columns  being  sometimes  used  side  by 
side  —  destroys  all  uniformity,  and  the  fragmentary  character  of  the 
entablatures  they  support  is  still  more  prejudicial  to  the  continuity  of 
the  perspective,  which  should  be  the  greatest  charm  of  these  churches. 
By  degrees,  the  fertile  quarries  of  ancient  Rome  seem  to  have  become 
entirely  exhausted  ;  and  as  the  example  of  St.  Paul  proves,  the 
Romans  in  the  fourth  century  were  incapable  of  manufacturing  even 
a  bad  imitation,  and  were  at  last  forced  to  adopt  some  new  plan  of 
supporting  their  arcades.  The  church  of  SS.  Nereo  ed  Achilleo  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  elegant  example  of  this  class,  the  piers  being  light 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


SAN  VINCENZO  ALLE  TRE  FONTANE. 


421 


octagons ;  but  the  most  charficteristic,  as  well  as  the  most  original,  is 
the  San  Vincenzo  alle  Tre  Fontane,  shown  in  section  and  elevation 
in  Woodcut  No.  285.    It  so  far  deviates  from  the  usual  basilican 


285.    Half  Section,  half  Elevation,  of  the  Church  of  San  Vincenzo  alle  Tre  Fontane. 
(From  Gutensohn  and  Knapp.)    Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


arrangements  as  almost  to  deserve  the  appellation  of  Gothic.  It  has 
the  same  defect  as  all  the  rest  —  its  pier  arches  being  too  low,  and  for 
which  there  is  no  excuse  here  —  but  both  internally  and  externally 
it  shows  a  uniformity  of  design  and  a  desire  to  make  every  part 
ornamental  that  produces  a  very  pleasing  effect,  notwithstanding 
that  the  whole  is.  merely  of  brick,  and  that  ornament  is  so  sparingly 
applied  as  barely  to  ])revent  the  building  sinking  into  the  class  of 
mere  utilitarian  erections. 

Among  the  most  pleasing  architectural  features,  if  they  may  be 
so  called,  of  these  churches,  are  the  mosaic  pavements  that  adorn  the 
greater  number.  These  were  always  original,  being  designed  for 
the  buildings  in  which  they  are  used,  and  following  tlie  arrangement 
of  the  architecture  surrounding  them.  The  patterns  too  are  always 
elegant,  and  appropriate  to  the  purpose ;  and  as  the  colors  are  in 
like  manner  generally  harmoniously  blended,  they  form  not  only  a 
most  appropriate  but  most  beautiful  basement  to  the  architecture. 

A  still  more  important  feature  was  the  great  mosaic  picture  that 
always  adorned  the  semi-dome  of  tlie  apse,  representing  most  generally 
the  Saviour  seated  in  glory  surrounded  by  Saints,  or  else  some  scene 
from  the  life  of  the  holy  personage  to  whom  the  church  was  dedicated. 
These  mosaics  were  generally  continued  down  to  nearly  the  level  of 
the  altar,  and  along  the  whole  of  the  inner  wall  of  the  sanctuary  in 
which  the  apse  was  situated,  and  as  far  as  the  triumphal  arch  which 
separated  the  nave  from  the  sanctuary,  at  which  point  the  mosaic 
blended  with  the  frescoes  that  adorned  the  upper  walls  of  the  central 
nave  above  the  arcades.  All  this  made  up  an  extent  of  polychro- 
matic decoration  which  in  those  dark  ages  when  few  could  read,  the 
designers  of  these  buildings  seem  to  have  considered  as  virtually 
of  more  importance  than  the  architectural  work  to  which  it  was 
attached.  Any  attempt  to  judge  of  the  one  without  taking  into 
consideration  the  other,  would  be  forming  an  opinion  on  hearing  but 


422 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


half  the  evidence:  but  taken  in  conjunction,  the  paintings  go  far  to 
explain,  and  also  to  redeem,  many  points  in  which  the  architecture 
is  most  open  to  criticism. 

Ravenna. 

During  the  wdiole  period  when  the  Romanesque  style  was  most 
flourishing,  the  city  of  Ravenna  almost  rivalled  in  importance  the  old 
capital  of  the  Avorld,  and  her  churches  were  consequently  hardly  less 
important  either  in  number  or  in  richness  than  those  we  have  just 
been  describing.  It  is  true  she  had  none  so  large  as  the  great  metro- 
politan basilicas  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  The  one  five-aisled  church  she 
possessed  —  the  cathedral  —  has  been  entirely  destroyed,  to  make  way 
for  a  very  contemptible  modern  erection.  From  the  plans,  however, 
which  we  possess  of  it,  it  seems  to  have  differed  very  considerably 
from  the  Roman  examples,  Tnost  especially  in  having  no  trace  of  a 
transept,  the  building  being  a  i)erfectly  regular  parallelogram,  half 
as  long  again  as  its  breadth,  and  with  merely  one  great  a})se  added  at 
the  end  of  the  central  nave.  Its  loss  is  the  more  to  be  regretted,  as  it 
was,  besides  being  the  largest,  the  oldest  church 
in  the  city,  having  been  erected  about  the  year 
400,  by  Archbishop  Ursus.  The  baptistery  tliat 
belonged  to  it  has  been  fortunately  preserved, 
and  will  be  described  hereafter. 

Besides  a  considerable  number  of  other 
churches  which  have  either  been  lost  or  de- 
stroyed by  repair,  Ravenna  still  possesses  two 
first-class  three-aisled 
basilicas— the  San  Ai)ol- 
linare  Nuovo,  originally 
an  Arian  cluirch,  built  |[ 
by  Theodoric,  king  of  m 
the  Goths  (A.  I).  493-  WP^S^flt 
525) ;  and  the  S.  Ai)ol-  ft^ffi 
linare  in  Classe,  at  the 
Port  of  Ravenna,  situ- 
ated about  three  miles 
from    the    city,  com- 
menced A.  D.  538,  and 
 dedicated  549.    Of  the 

286.   Plan  of  St.  ApoUinare    tWO,  the  first  named  is  ^sj.   Arches  in  Church  of  San 
Nuovo.    (From  Hubsch.)       r       r      xy.      ■n^(^r(^    r>nn-       ApoUinare  Nuovo.  (From 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in.  ^^J  ^^^^   moie    Lon  Quast.i) 

siderable,  being  315  ft. 
long  by  115  in  width  externally,  while  the  other  only  measures 


1  A.  F.  von  Quast,  "Die  Altchristliclien  Bauwerke  von  Kavenna." 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


RAVENNA. 


423 


289.   S.  Apolliiiare  in  Classe,  Kaveiuia.   (From  Quast.) 


424 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  II. 


21(1  feet  in  length  by  104.  It  is  now  called  S.  Mnrtino  in  Cielo  d'Oro, 
from  its  having  been  decided  in  the  twelfth  century  that  the  other 
church  in  Classe  possessed  the  true  body  of  the  saint  to  which  botli 
churches  were  dedicated.  As  will  be  seen  by  the  plan,  it  is  a  per- 
fectly regular  basilica,  with  twenty-two  pillars  on  each  side  of  the  | 
nave,  which  is  51  feet  in  widtli.  The  benia  is  well  raised,  and  forms 
a  sort  of  incipient  transept  in  front  of  the  apse,  and  it  possesses  a 
liandsoine  narthex  with  light  ])illars  in  front. 

Tlie  great  merit  of  these  two  basilicas,  as  compared  with  those  of 
IJome,  arises  from  the  circumstance  of  Ravenna  having  possessed  no 
ruined  temples  whose  spoils  could  be  used  in  the  construction  of  new 
buihlings.  Consequently  the  architects,  being  obliged  to  think  for 
themselves  and  design  every  detail,  introduced  a  degree  of  harmony 
into  their  proportions  utterly  unknown  in  the  Roman  examples. 
From  Woodcut  No.  287,  representing  three  arches  of  the  nave  of 
S.  Apollinare  Nuovo,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  pillars  are  pleasingly 
spaced  ;  their  capitals,  surmounted  by  a  block  representing  the  archi- 
trave, suffice  for  the  support  of  the  arches  that  spring  from  them;  the 
triforiuni  belt  is  adorned  with  figures,  and  is  of  pleasing  proportions ; 
and  the  window  over  each  arch  fills  up  the  remaining  height  to  the 
roof,  without  either  overcrowding  or  leaving  any  space  that  is  not 
easily  filled  up  by  ttie  decorations  applied.  It  is  true  the  parts  do  not 
all  quite  harmonize,  but  the  entire  architecture  of  the  building  is  an 
immense  stride  in  advance  of  the  Roman  style.  All  this  is  still 
more  apparent  in  Woodcut  'No.  288,  taken  from  the  angle  where  the 
nave  joins  the  aj^se  in  the  Apollinare  in  Classe,  which  shows  a  still 
further  advance  towards  forming  a  new  style  out  of  the  classical 
elements  :  a  little  more  and  the  transition  would  be  almost  complete. 
It  is  still  easy,  however,  not  only  to  trace  the  derivation  of  every 
detail  from  the  classical  model,  but  also  to  see  that  the  architect  was 
trying  to  adhere  to  that  style  as  far  as  his  means  and  his  purposes 
would  allow. 

Externally  these  buildings  appear  to  have  remained  to  the  present 
liour  almost  wholly  without  architectural  embellishment.  It  was  con- 
sidered "sufficient  for  ornamental  purposes  to  make  the  brick  arches 
necessary  for  the  construction  slightly  more  prominent  and  important 
than  was  actually  required.  As  if  impelled  by  some  feeling  of  antag- 
onism to  the  practice  of  the  heathens,  the  early  Christians  seem  to 
ha\  e  tried  to  make  the  external  appearance  of  their  buildings  as 
unlike  those  of  their  predecessors  as  was  possible.  Whether  this  was 
the  cause  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  nothing  can  well  be  less  ornamental 
than  these  exteriors  ;  and  even  the  narthex,  which  in  the  Apollinare  in 
Classe  afforded  an  excellent  opportunity  for  embellishment,  could  not  be 
less  ornamental  if  it  were  the  entrance  to  a  barn  instead  of  to  a  church 
of  such  richness  and  beauty  as  this  in  all  its  internal  arrangements. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  II. 


PARENZO. 


425 


P 


At  Parenzo  in  Istria  there  is  a  basilica,  built  in  the  year  542  by 
the  Bishop  Euphrasius,  and  consequently  contemporary  with  these 
examples  at  Ravenna.  This  church  still  retains 
its  atrium,  baptistery,  and  other  accompani- 
ments, which  those  at  Ravenna  have  lost.  It 
consists  of  a  basilica  in  tliree  aisles,  with  an 
apse  at  the  end  of  each,  and  an  atrium  in  front, 
beyond  which  is  situated  the  baptistery ;  and 
in  front  of  this  again  a  tower,  with  a  circular 
chamber  in  it,  tliougli  tliis  latter  feature  seems 
to  be  of  more  modern  date.  On  one  side  at 
the  east  end  is  a  chapel  or  crypt ;  but  it  is  by 
no  means  clear  to  what  age  it  belongs,  and  for 
what  purpose  it  was  erected.  It  is  apparently 
an  excrescence,  while  all  the  other  parts  belong 
to  the  original  design.  Internally  the  church 
is  121  feet  in  length  by  32  in  width,  and 
possesses  all  the  usual  arrangements  of  a 
church  of  that  date.  Some  of  its  pillars  are 
of  the  Corinthian  order  and  are  borrowed  from 
some  older  edifice,  but  others  are  of  pure 
Byzantine  type  (Woodcut  No.  291),  and  were 
they  all  like  this,  would  oblige  us  to  defer 
the  description  of  the  building  to  a  later 
page.  It  may,  however,  be  regarded  as  a  tran- 
sition specimen,  but  one  of  such  beauty  as  to 
make  us  regret  that  the  barbarians  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Adriatic  had  not  studied  or 
appreciated  its  beauty.  Externally  the  facade 
retains  some  of  the  painted  decorations  which 
seem  to  have  been  so  fashionable  at  the  time 
it  was  erected,  but  internally  they  have  been 
entirely  peeled  off  the  nave,  and  though  the 
apse  is  rich  in  marbles,  mosaic  and  paintings, 
they  are  of  a  much  later  date  than  the  build- 
ing itself.  As  an  edifice  of  the  age  of  Jus- 
tinian, and  as  showing  the  relative  position 
of  the  various  parts  that  made  up  an  ecclesi- 
astical establishment  in  those  early  times,  it  is  singularly  deserving 
of  the  attention  of  those  to  whom  the  history  of  art  is  a  matter  of 
interest. 


290 


Church  at  Parenzo  in 
Istria.   (From  Agincourt.) 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


291.   Capital  of  Pillar  at 
Parenzo. 


426 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  n 


TOKCELLO. 

The  church  at  Torcello,  in  the  Venetian  Lagune,  is  the  last  example 
it  will  be  necessary  to  quote  in  order  to  make  the  arrangements  of  the 

Romanesque  basilicas  intelligible.  It 
was  originally  erected  in  the  seventh 
century ;  and  though  altered,  perhaps  to 
some  extent  rebuilt,  in  the  first  year  of 
the  eleventh  century,  it  still  retains  much 
of  the  arrangement  and  character  of 
the  original  edifice  —  few  churches  prob- 
^  ably  possess  the  old  arrangements  in  such 
completeness  as  this,  or  impress  the  be- 


292.   Plan  of  Church  at  Torcello, 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


holder  with  an  air  of  greater  antiquity. 
The  whole  width  of  the  church  is  71  ft. 
internally  by  125  in  length.  One  of  its 
most  striking  peculiarities  is  the  dispro- 
portional  width  of  the  central  as  com- 
j^ared  with  the  side  aisles,  the  latter 
being  only  7  ft.  wide.  A  screen  of  six 
pillars  divides  the  nave  from  the  sanctu- 
ary. Perhaps,  however,  the  most  inter- 
esting part  of  this  church  is  the  interior 
of  its  apse,  which  still  retains  the  bisliop's  throne,  surrounded  by  six 
ranges  of  seats  for  his  i)resbytery,  arranged  like  those  of  an  ancient 
theatre.  It  presents  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  best  preserved 
exam])les  of  the  fittings  of  the  apse,  and  gives  a  better  idea  of  the 
mode  in  wliicli  the  apses  of  churches  were  originally  arranged  than 
anything  that  is  to  be  found  in  any  other  church,  either  of  its  age 
or  of  an  earlier  period. 

Like  Sta.  Pudentiana  (Woodcut  Ko.  282)  and  Parenzo,  this  church 
joossesses  a  small  side  chapel,  a  vestry  or  sanctuary,  on  the  Gospel  side 
of  the  altar,  and  the  remains  of  a  very  perfect  baptistery  may  still  be 
traced  in  front  of  the  west  dooi-.  This  was  a  square  block,  externally, 
measuring  37  ft.  eaph  way;  internally  an  octagon,  with  the  angles 
cut  in  hemispherical  niches.  In  the  rear  of  the  church  stood  the 
campanile,  and  across  a  narrow  passage  the  conventual  buildings ;  in 
front  of  which  now  stands  the  beautiful  little  church  of  Sta.  Fosc'a, 
the  whole  making  up  a  group  of  nearly  unrivalled  interest  considering 
its  small  dimensions. 

Other  examples  might  be  quoted  differing  in  some  slight  respect 
from  those  just  given,  but  the  above  are  probably  sufficient  to  explain 
the  general  arrangements  of  the  early  basilican  churches  and  the 
style  of  their  architecture,  so  long  as  it  remained  pure  Romanesque ; 
in  other  words,  so  long  as  it  continued  in  Italy  to  be  a  direct  deduc- 


Bk.  1.  6n.  11. 


TORCELLO. 


427 


tioii  from  the  lioman  style,  without  any  foreign  admixture  or  reaction. 
It  might  be  instructive  to  speculate  on  what  the  style  might  have 
become  if  left  alone  to  develope  itself  on  its  native  soil,  but  it  would 
be  extremely  difficult  to  make  the  subject  clear  without  a  much 
larger  amount  of  illustration  than  is  admissible,  and  which  in  such  a 
history  as  this  would  be  out  of  place.  Simultaneously  with  the  elab- 
oration of  the  rectangular  form  of  church  by  the  Italians,  the  Byzan- 
tines were  occupied  with  the  same  task ;  but,  being  freer  from  the 
trammels  of  tradition  and  less  influenced  by  examples,  they  early 


293.   Apse  of  Basilica  at  Torcello. 


arrived  at  forms  much  more  divergent  from  those  of  the  classical 
period  than  those  of  Italy,  and  their  style,  reacting  on  the  Italian, 
])roduced  that  very  beautiful  combination  of  which  Pisa  Cathedral  is 
a  type,  and  St.  Mark's  at  Venice  an  extreme  example.  This  style 
generally  pervaded  the  whole  south  of  Italy,  with  the  exception  of 
Rome ;  and,  from  the  elements  of  which  it  was  composed,  may  fairly 
be  designated  Byzantine  Italian. 

While  this  was  going  on  in  the  south,  the  Longobards,  the  Goths, 
and  other  Barbarians  who  invaded  the  north  of  Italy,  seized  on  this 
type  and  worked  it  out  in  their  own  fashion.    They,  however,  had 


428 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECT UEE. 


Part  11. 


a  mama  for  stone  vaulted  roofs,  which  led  to  most  important  modifi- 
cations of  the  style.  It  may  probably  be  correct  to  assert  that  no 
Romanesque  or  Byzantine  Italian  church  has,  or  ever  had,  a  vaulted 
nave.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  hardly  a  Barbarian  church  which 
the  builders  did  not  aspire  to  vault,  though  they  were  frequently 
unable  to  accomplish  it.  It  was  this  vaulting  mania  which  led  to  the 
invention  of  compound  piers,  pointed  arches,  buttresses,  pinnacles, 
and  all  the  numerous  peculiarities  of  the  Gothic  style ;  and  which, 
reacting  on  northern  Italy,  produced  the  Ghibeline  or  Italian  Gothic 
style. 

No  exact  boundary  can  be  drawn  between  these  two :  modifica- 
tions of  style  varied,  as  Byzantine  or  Gothic  influences  ebbed  or 
flowed,  during  the  Middle  Ages.  Venice  and  Pisa,  and  all  Calabria, 
were  generally  influenced  by  their  intercourse  with  the  East,  while 
the  whole  of  the  north  of  Italy  and  away  from  the  coast  as  far  down 
as  Sienna  and  Orvieto  the  strong  hand  of  the  Teuton  made  itself 
felt. 

Yet  Italy  cannot  be  said  to  have  been  successful  in  either  style. 
Her  superior  civilization  enabled  her  to  introduce  and  use  an  elegance 
of  detail  unknown  north  of  the  Alps ;  but  she  did  not  work  out  the 
basilican  type  for  herself :  she  left  it  to  others  to  do  that  for  her,  and 
consequently  never  perfectly  understood  what  she  undertook,  or  why 
it  was  done.  The  result  is  that,  though  great  elegance  is  found  in 
parts,  Italy  can  hardly  produce  a  single  church  which  is  satisfactory 
as  a  design ;  or  which  would  be  intelligible  without  first  explaining 
the  basework  of  those  true  styles  from  which  its  principal  features 
have  been  borrowed. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  III. 


CIRCULAR  CHURCHES. 


429 


CHAPTER  III. 
CIRCULAR  ROMANESQUE  CHURCHES. 

CONTENTS. 

Circular  Churches  —  Tomb  of  Sta.  Costanza  — Churches  at  Perugia,  Nocera, 
Ravenna,    Milan  —  Secular  Buildings. 

IN  addition  to  the  Pagan  basilicas  and  temples,  from  which  the 
arrangements  of  so  many  of  the  Christian  edifices  were  obtained, 
the  tombs  of  the  Romans  formed  a  third  type,  from  which  the  forms 
of  a  very  important  class  of  churches  were  derived. 

The  form  Avhich  these  buildings  retained,  so  long  as  they  remained 
mere  sepulchres  appropriated  to  Pagan  uses,  has  been  already  described 
(pp.  342  to  346).  That  of  Csecilia  Metella  and  those  of  Augustus 
and  Hadrian  were  what  would  now  be  called  "chambered  tumuli ; " 
originally  the  sepulchral  chamber  was  infinitesimally  small  as  com- 
pared with  the  mass,  but  we  find  these  being  gradually  enlarged  till 
we  approach  the  age  of  Constantine,  when,  as  in  the  tombs  of  the 
Tossia  Family,  that  called  the  Tomb  of  Helena  (Woodcut  No.  226)  and 
many  others  of  the  same  age,  they  became  miniature  Pantheons.  The 
central  apartment  was  all  in  all ;  the  exterior  was  not  thought  of. 
Still  they  were  appropriated  to  sepulchral  rites,  and  these  only,  so 
long  as  they  belonged  to  Pagan  Rome.  The  case  was  different  when 
they  were  erected  by  the  Christians.  No  association  could  be  more 
appropriate  than  that  of  these  sepulchral  edifices,  to  a  religion  nursed 
in  persecution,  and  the  apostles  of  which  had  sealed  their  faith  with 
their  blood  as  martyrs ;  and  when  the  Sacrament  for  the  dying  and 
the  burial  service  were  employed,  it  was  in  these  circular  churches 
that  it  was  performed.  But  besides  the  viaticum  for  the  departing 
Christian,  the  Church  provided  the  admission  sacrament  of  baptism 
for  those  who  were  entering  into  communion,  and  this  was,  in  early 
days  at  least,  always  performed  in  a  building  separate  from  the 
basilica.  It  would  depend  on  whether  marriage  was  then  considered 
as  a  sacrament  or  a  civil  contract,  whether  it  was  celebrated  in  the 
basilica  or  the  church :  but  it  seems  certain  that  the  one  was  used 
almost  exclusively  as  the  business  place  of  the  community,  the  other 
as  the  sacramental  temple  of  the  sect.  This  appears  always  to  have 
been  the  case,  at  least  when  the  two  forms  existed  together,  as  they 


430 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Tart  II. 


almost  always  did  in  the  great  ecclesiastical  establishments  of 
Italy.  When  the  church  was  copied  from  a  temple,  as  in  the 
African  examples  above  described,  it  is  probable  it  may  have 
served  both  purposes.  But  too  little  is  known  of  the  architecture 
of  this  early  age,  and  its  liturgies,  to  speak  positively  on  the 
subject. 

The  uses  and  derivation  of  these  three  forms  of  churches  are  so 
distinct  that  it  would  be  extremely  convenient  if  we  could  appropriate- 
names  to  distinguish  them.  The  first  retains  most  appropriately  the 
name  of  basilica,  and  with  sufficient  limitation  to  make  it  generally 
applicajple.  The  word  ecclesia,  or  eglise,  would  equally  suffice  for  the 
second,  but  that  it  is  not  English,  and  has  been  so  indiscriminately 
applied  that  it  could  not  now  be  used  in  a  restricted  sense.  The 
word  kirk,  or  as  we  soften  it  into  church,  would  be  apjoropriate  to 
the  third, ^  but  again  it  has  been  so  employed  as  to  be  inapplicable. 
We  therefore  content  ourselves  with  employing  the  words  Basilica, 
Church,  and  Round  Church,  to  designate  tlie  three,  employing  some 
expletive  when  any  confusion  is  likely  to  arise  between  the  first  two 
of  the  series. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  the  early  Romanesque  circular 
buildings  is  that  they  show  the  same  transitional  progress  from  an 
external  to  an  internal  columnar  style  of  architecture  which  marked 
the  cliange  from  the  Pagan  to  the  Christian  form  of  sacred  edifice.  It 
is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  assert  tliat  no  ancient  classic  building 
of  circular  form  lias  any  pillars  used  constructively  in  its  interior. 
Even  the  Pantheon,  tliough  143  ft.  6  in.  in  diameter,  derives  no 
assistance  from  the  j)illars  that  surround  it  internally  — they  are  mere 
decoi'ative  features.  The  same  is  true  of  the  last  Pagan  example  we 
are  acquainted  with,  —  tlie  temple  or  tomb  which  Diocletian  erected  in 
his  ])alace  at  Spalatro  (Woodcut  No.  194).  The  pillars  do  fill  up  the 
angles  there,  but  the  building  would  be  stable  without'  them.  The 
Byzantine  architects  also  generally  declined  to  avail  themselves  of 
pillars  to  support  tlieir  domes,  but  the  Romanesque  architects  used 
them  almost  as  universally  as  in  their  basilicas. 

Another  very  striking  peculiarity  is  the  entire  abandonment  of 
all  external  decoration.  Roman  circular  temples  had  peristyles,  like 
those  at  Tivoli  (Woodcut  No.  193)  and  that  of  Vesta  in  Rome.  Even 
the  Pantheon  is  as  remarkable  for  its  portico  as  its  dome,  so  is  that 


^  That  is  on  the  supposition  that  the 
word  kirk  is  derived  from  the  Latin 
word  "circus,"  "circular,"  as  the 
French  term  it,  "  cirque."  My  own 
conviction  is  that  this  is  certainly  the 
case.  The  word  is  only  used  by  the 
Barbarians  as  applied  to  a  form  of  build- 


ing they  derived  from  the  Romans. 
Why  the  Germans  should  employ  hvqIov 
ohog,  when  neither  the  Greeks  nor  the 
Latins  used  that  name,  is  a  mystery 
which  those  who  insist  on  these  very 
improbable  names  have  as  yet  failed  to 
explain. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  III. 


CIRCULAR  CHURCHES. 


known  as  the  Torre  dei  Schiavi,^  but  it  is  only  in  the  very  earliest  of 
the  Christian  edifices  that  we  find  a  trace  of  the  portico,  and  even  in 
them  hardly  any  attenij)t  at  external  decoration.  The  temples  of  the 
Christians  were  no  longer  shrines  to  contain  statues,  and  to  which 
worshi])  might  be  addressed  by  people  outside,  but  had  become  halls  to 
contain  the  worshippers  themselves  while  engaged  in  acts  of  devotion. 

The  tomb  of  the  Empress  Helena  (Woodcut  No.  226)  is  one  of  the 
earliest  examples  of  its  class.  It  has  no  pillars  internally,  it  is  true, 
but  it  likewise  has  none  on  the  exterior  —  the  transition  was  not  then 
complete.  The  same  is  the  case  with  the  two  tombs  on  the  Spina  of 
the  Circus  of  Nero  (Woodcut  No.  274).  They  too  were  astyler,  and 
their  external  appearance  was  utterly  neglected. 

Wlien  from  these  we  turn  to  tlie  Tomb  or  Ba])tistery  of  Constantine, 
built  some  time  afterwards  (Woodcut  No.  294),  we  find  the  roof  sup- 
ported by  a  screen  of  eight  columns,  two  stories 
in  height,  and  through  all  its  alterations  can  detect 
the  effort  to  make. the  interior  ornamental.  It 
has,  however,  a  portico,  but  this  again  is  practi- 
cally an  interior,  both  ends  being  closed  with 
apsidal  terminations,  so  that  it  really  forms  a 
second  apartment  rather  than  a  portico.  In  both 
these  respects  it  is  in  advance  of  the  buildino-next    294.  Baptistery  of  Con- 

^  ^  stantine.    (From  Isa- 

to  it  in  ao^e  that  we  know  of —  the  Octas^on  at  Spa-      beiie.)   Scale  100  ft. 

°  _  ^  ^  to  1  in. 

latro  —  which  it  otherwise  very  much  resembles. 
Tlie  eight  internal  pillars  instead  of  being  mere  ornaments  have  become 
essential  parts  of  the  construction,  and  the  external  peristyle  has  dis- 
appeared, leaving  only  the  fragment  of  a  porch. 

The  tomb  which  the  same  Emperor  erected  to  contain  the  re- 
mains of  his  daughter  Constantia,  is  another  example  of  the  same 
transitional  style.  The  intei'ior  in  this 
instance  is  vaulted,  but  so  timidly  that 
twenty-four  pillars  are  employed  to  sus- 
tain a  weight  for  which  half  that  number 
Avould  have  been  amply  sufhcient.  In  the 
square  niche  opposite  the  entrance  stood 
the  sarcophagus  of  the  princess,  now  in 
the  Vatican.  The  roof  of  the  aisle  is 
adorned  with  paintings  of  the  vintage 
and  scenes  of  rural  life,  which,  like  all    295.  Plan  of  the  Tomb  of  sta.  Costan- 

■  I  ,  1       «  -r~»  za,  at  Rome.  (From  Isabelle, "  Edi- 

tnose  on  the  tombs  or  Pairan  Rome,  have      *ices  Circuiaires.")  Scale  100  ft.to  1 

p  ^  in. 

no  reterence  to  the  sepulchral  uses  to 

which  the  building  was  dedicated.  The  whole  internal  diameter  of 
the  tomb  is  73  feet,  that  of  the  dome  35. 


*  Isabelle,  "  Edifices  Circuiaires,"  plates  26  and  27. 


432 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


In  front  of  the  building  is  a  small  crypto-porticus  similar  in 
arrangement  to  that  of  her  father's  tomb,  and  beyond  this  is  an  ob- 
long space  with  circular  ends, 
and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
arcades  ;  its  dimensions  were 
535  feet  by  130,  and,  though 
so  ruined  as  hardly  to  allow  of 
its  arrangements  being  res- 
tored, it  is  interesting  as  behig 
perhaps  tlie  only  instance  of 
the  ''\forum  "  which  it  is  prob- 
able was  left  before  all  tombs 
in  those  times,  and  traces  of 
which  may  perhaps  be  found 
elsewhere,  though  as  yet  tliey 
have  not  been  looked  for. 

The  only  other  important 
circular  building  within  the 
Avails  of  Rome  of  this  early  age  is  that  known  as  8.  Stephano  Rotondo. 
Though  there  is  nothing  to  fix  its  date  with  any  precision,  it  is  almost 

certain  that  it  belongs  to  the  fifth  and  sixtli 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  It  is  210  ft.  in 
diameter,  and  its  roof  was  supported  by  two 
ranges  of  columns  circularly  disposed  in  its 
interior;  and  on  the  first  or  inner  range  rested 
a  horizontal  architrave  like  that  of  St.Peter's. 
In  the  outer  one  the  pillars  support  arches 
like  those  of  St.  Paul's.  All  the  pillars  are 
taken  from  older  buildings.  The  outer  aisle 
was  divided  into  eight  compartments ;  but  in 
what  manner,  and  for  what  purpose,  it  is  not 
now  easy  to  ascertain,  owing  to  the  ruined  state  of  the  building,  and 


296.     Plan  of  San  Stephano  Eotondo.  (From 
Gutensohn  and  Knapp.)  Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


297.  Plan  of  Sti.Angeli.Perugia. 
(From  Isabelle.)  Scale  100  ft. 
to  1  in. 


298.   Section  of  Sti.  Angeli,  Perugia.   (From  Isabelle,  "  Edifices  Circulaires.")  No  scale. 


Bk.  1.  Ch.  III. 


CIllCULAK  CHURCHES. 


433 


to  its  having  been  so  much  and  so  frequently  altered  since  it  was  first 
erected.  Nor  can  it  be  determined  exactly  how  it  was  roofed,  though  it  is 
probable  that  its  arrangements  were  identical  with  those  of  the  great  five- 
aisled  basilicas,  Avhich  it  closely  resembles,  except  in  its  circular  shape. 

This  is  more  clear  in  another  church  of  the  same  age,  that  of  Sti. 
Angeli,  at  Perugia,  which  is  very  similar  in  its  disposition.  Of  this 
building  a  section  is  here  shown,  as  given  by  M.  Isabelle  —  perhaps 
not  quite  to  be  depended  upon  in  every  respect,  but  still  affording  a 
very  fair  representation  of  what  the  arrangements  of  the  circular 
wooden-roofed  churches  were.  Its  dimensions  are  much  less  than 
those  of  San  Stephano,  being  only  115  feet  in  diameter ;  but  it  is  more 
regular,  the  greater  part  of  its  materials  being  apparently  original, 
and  made  for  the  })lace  they  occu])y.  In  the  church  of  San  Stephano, 
the  tomb-shaped  circular  form  was  probably  used  as  symbolical  of  his 
martyrdom.  That  at  Perugia  was  most  likely  originally  a  baptistery,  • 
or  it  may  also  have  been  dedicated  to  some  martyr ;  but  in  the  heart 
of  Etruria  this  form  may  have  l)een  adopted  for  other  reasons,  the 
force  of  which  we  are  hardly  able  at  the  present  day  to  appreciate, 
though  in  all  cases  locality  is  one  of  the  strongest  influencing  powers 
in  so  far  as  architectural  forms  are  concerned. 

At  Nocera  dei  Pagani,  on  the  road  between  Naples  and  Salerno, 
there  is  an  extremely  beautiful  circular  church  built  undoubtedly  for 
the  purpose  of  a  baptistery,  and  very 
similar  in  i)lan  and  general  arrange- 
ment to  the  tomb  of  Constantia,  now 
known  as  tlie  Baptistery  of  Sta.  Agnese, 
though  somewhat  larger,  being  80  feet 
in  diameter.  Its  principal  merit  is 
the  form  of  its  dome,  which  is  not 
only  correct  in  a  scientific  point  of 
view,  but-  singularly  graceful  inter- 
nally. Externally  this  building  for  the 
first  time  introduces  us  to  a  peculiar- 
ity which  had  as  much  influence  on  the 
Western  styles  as  any  of  those  pointed 
out  above.  As  before  observed  (p.  428 ) 
the  Romanesque  architects  never  at- 
tempted to  vault  their  rectangular  soft,  to i  in. 
buildings,  but  they  did  frequently  construct  domes  over  their  circular 
edifices.  But  here  again  they  did  not  make  the  outside  of  the  dome 
the  outline  of  their  buildings,  as  the  Romans  had  always  done  before 
the  time  of  Constantine,  and  as  the  Byzantines  and  Saracens  in- 
variably did  afterwards ;  but  they  employed  their  vault  only  as  a 
ceiling  internally,  and  covered  it,  as  in  this  instance,  with  a  false 
wooden  roof  externally.  It  may  be  difiicult  to  determine  how  far 
VOL.  I. —  28 


299.  Plan  of  Baptistery  at  Nocera  dei  Pa- 
gani.  Double  the  usual  scale,  or 


434 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


this  was  a  judicious  innovation ;  but  this  at  least  is  certain,  that  it 
had  as  much  influence  on  the  development  of  the  Gothic  style  as  the 
vaulting  mania  itself.  In  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries  many 
attempts  were  made  to  construct  true  roofs  of  stone,  but  unsuccess- 
fully ;  and  from  various  causes,  which  will  be  pointed  out  hereafter, 


300.    bc'olioii  of  liiipusu  TV  ;a  tloi  raj^aiii.    (J-roiii  Isabellf,  "  I'aIiIicc.s  UircuUiires.") 

>io  scale. 

the  idea  was  abandoned,  and  the  architects  were  forced  to  content  them- 
selves with  a  stone  ceiling,  covered  by  a  wooden  roof,  though  this  be- 
came one  of  the  radical  defects  of  the  style,  and  one  of  the  jDrincipal 
causes  of  the  decay  and  destruction  of  many  beautiful  buildings. 

Raven^^a. 

Ravenna  possesses  several  circular  buildings,  almost  as  interesting 
as  those  of  the  capital ;  the  first  being  the  baptistery  of  St.  John, 
belonging  to  the  original  basilica,  and  consequently  one  of  the  oldest 
Christian  buildings  of  the  place.  Externally  it  is  a  plain  octagonal 
building,  40  ft.  in  diameter.  Internally  it  still  retains  its  original 
decorations,  which  are  singularly  elegant  and  pleasing.  Its  design  is 
somewhat  like  that  of  the  temple  at  Spalatro,  but  with  arcades  sub- 
stituted everywhere  for  horizontal  architraves ;  the  century  that 
elapsed  between  these  two  epochs  having  sufficed  to  complete  the 
transition  between  the  two  styles. 

Far  more  interesting  than  this  is  the  great  church  of  St.  Vitale, 
the  most  complicated,  and  at  the  same  time,  perhaps,  the  most  beau- 
tiful, of  the  circular  churches  of  that  age.  In  design  it  is  nearly 
identical  with  the  Minerva  Medica  at  Rome,i  except  in  its  being  an 
octagon  instead  of  a  decagon,  and  that  it  is  wholly  enclosed  by  an 


See  page  348. 


13k.  I.  Ch.  III. 


CIRCULAR  CHURCHES. 


435 


octagonal  wall,  whereas  the  Roman  example  has  in  addition  two 
curvilinear  wings,  enclosing  its  sides.  There  are  also  some  minor 
alterations,  such  as  the  introduction  of  galleries,  and  the  prominence 
given  to  the  choir ;  but  still  nothing  at  all  to  justify  the  title  of 
Byzantine,  usually  applied  to  this  church.  It  is  in  reality  a  bad  copy 
from  a  building  in  Rome,  and  very  unlike  any  building  in  the  East 
we  are  acquainted  with,  though  no  doubt  there  are  certain  forms  of 
similarity,  as  indeed  must  be  found  in  all  the  buildings  of  the  age 
before  the  final  separation  of  the  two  churches  took  place. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  annexed  plan,  the  diameter  of  the  external 
octagon  is  110  ft.,  of  the  internal  one  only  50,  so  that  the  dome  here  is  a 
third  less  than  that  of  its  prototy})e,  and 
so  completely  had  the  architects  degen- 
erated from  the  dome-builders  of 
Rome,  that  instead  of  the  scientific 
construction  of  the  Minerva  Medica, 
this  is  wholly  composed  of  earthen  pots, 
and  protected  by  a  wooden  roof.  It  is 
said  these  pots  have  been  used  in  the 
East  for  domes  and  roofs  from  the  ear. 
liest  ages,  that  they  form  as  stable  and 
as  permanent  a  mode  of  covering  as 
stone  itself,  and  that  they  ifiight  with 
facility  be  so  used  as  to  surpass  the 
heavier  material  for  this  purpose.  But 
such  is  not  the  case  here  ;  and  though 
it  appears  invidious  to  blame  that 

which  has  stood  the  wear  and  tear  of  thirteen  centuries,  and  has  wit- 
nessed the  fall  of  so  many  of  its  younger  and  more  aspiring  rivals,  the 


Plan  of  St,  Vitale,  Ravenna. 
(From  Isabelle.) 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


302.   Section  of  St.  Vitale,  Ravenna.    (From  Isabelle.)   Scale  50  ft.  to  1 : 


construction  of  this  dome  serves  rather  to  show  how  excellent  the 
expedient  is,  than  the  method  by  which  it  can  best  be  applied. 


436 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Internally  a  good  deal  has  been  done  in  modern  times  to  destroy 
the  simplicity  of  the  original  effect  of  the  building  ;  but  still  there  is  a 
pleasing  result  produced  by  alternating  the  piers  with  circular  columns, 
and  a  lightness  and  elegance  about  the  whole  design  that  render  it 
unrivalled  in  the  Western  world  among  churches  of  its  class.  This 
seems  to  have  been  admitted  by  its  contemporaries  as  much  as  it  is 
in  modern  times.  Charlemagne  at  all  events  copied  it  for  his  own 
tomb  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  and  the  architects  of  many  other  circular 
buildings  of  that  age  appeared  to  have  derived  their  inspiration  from 
this  one. 

The  church  of  San  Lorenzo  at  Milan,  had  it  not  been  so  much 
altered  in  modern  times,    ould  take  precedence  of  San  Vitale  in  almost 


303.   Plan  of  S.  Lorenzo  at  Milan.   (From  Quast,  "Altcliristlichen,"  etc.)   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 

every  respect.  The  date  of  its  erection  is  not  known,  though  it 
certainly  must  be  as  early,  if  not  earlier,  than  the  time  of  Justinian. 
Down  to  the  8th  century  it  was  the  cathedral  of  that  city.  It  was 
burnt  to  the  ground  in  1071,  and  restored  in  1119  ;  the  dome  then 
erected  fell  in  1571,  on  which  it  underwent  its  last  transformation 
from  the  hands  of  Martino  Bassi  and  Pellegrini,  who  so  disfigured  its 
ancient  details  as  to  lead  many  modern  inquirers  to  doubt  whether  it 
was  really  so  old  as  it  was  said  to  be. 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  III. 


CIRCULAR  CHURCHES. 


437 


Its  plan,  however,  seems  to  have  remained  unchanged,  and  shows  a 
further  progress  towards  what  afterwards  became  the  Byzantine  style 
than  is  to  be  found  either  in  the  Minerva  Medica  or  in  San  Vitale.  It 
is  in  fact  the  earliest  attempt  to  amalgamate  the  circular  cliurch  with 
one  of  a  square  shape ;  and  except  that  the  four  lateral  colonnades  are 
flat  segments  of  circles,  and  that  there  is  a  little  clumsiness  in  the 
angles,  it  is  one  of  the  most  successful  designs  handed  down  from  that 
early  age. 

The  dome  as  it  now  stands  is  octagonal,  which  the  first  dome 
certainly  could  not  have  been.  Its  diameter  is  70  ft.,  nearly  equal  to 
that  of  the  Minerva  Medica,  and  the  whole  diameter  of  the  building  is 
internally  142  ft. 

In  front  of  the  church,  in  the  street  is  a  handsome  colonnade  of 
pillars,  borrowed  from  some  ancient  temple — it  is  said  from  one  dedi- 
cated to  Hercules ;  this  leads  to  a  square  atrium,  now  wholly  deprived 
of  its  lateral  arcades  ;  and  this  again  to  a  fa9ade,  which  has  been 
strangely  altered  in  modern  times.  Opposite  this,  to  the  eastward  of 
the  church,  is  an  octagonal  building,  apparently  intended  as  a  tomb- 
house  ;  and  on  the  north  side  a  similar  one,  though  smaller.  On  the 
south  is  the  baptistery,  about  45  ft.  in  diameter,  approached  by  a  ves- 
tibule in  the  same  manner  as  that  of  Constantine  at  Rome,  and  as  in 
the  tomb  of  his  daughter  Constantia  ;  all  these,  however,  have  been 
so  painfully  altered,  that  little  remains  besides  the  bare  plan  of  the 
building ;  still  there  is  enough  to  show  that  this  is  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  interesting  of  the  Christian  churches  of  Italy. 

The  building  now  known  as  the  baptistery  at  Florence  is  an 
octagon,  108  ft.  in  diameter  externally.  Like  the  last-mentioned 
church,  it  was  originally  the  cathedral  of  the  city,  and  was  erected  to 
serve  as  such  apparently  in  the  time  of  Theodelinda,  queen  of  the 
Lombards.  If  this  was  so,  it  certainly  had  not  originally  its  present 
form,  and  most  probably  those  columns  which  now  stand  ranged  round 
the  walls,  at  that  time  stood  in  the  centre,  as  in  the  Roman  examples. 
If  the  original  roof  was  of  wood,  it  was  probably  in  two  stories,  like 
that  of  the  baptistery  of  Constantine,  or  it  may  have  been  a  dome  of 
more  solid  materials,  like  that  of  the  Sta.  Costanza. 

At  the  same  time  when  the  new  cathedral  was  built,  the  older 
edifice  appears  to  have  been  remodelled  both  internally  and  externally 
by  Arnolpho  da  Lapo,  and  both  its  form  and  decoration  so  completely 
changed,  that  it  must  now  be  considered  rather  as  a  building  of  the 
13th  century  than  of  the  6th,  in  which  it  seems  originally  to  have 
been  erected. i 


^  In  this  building  they  now  show  <i 
sarcophagus  of  ancient  date,  said  to  be 
that  of  Galla  Placidia,  daughter  of  Theo- 
dosius.     She,  however,  was  certainly 


buried  at  Ravenna ;  but  it  may  be  of  her 
time,  and  in  these  ages  it  is  impossible 
to  distinguish  between  baptisteries  and 
tombs. 


438 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


There  can  be  little  doubt  that  many  other  similar  buildings 
belonging  to  this  age  still  exist  in  various  parts  of  Italy;  for  it  is 
more  than  probable  that,  at  a  time  when  the  city  was  not  of  sufficient 
importance,  or  the  congregation  so  numerous  as  to  require  the  more 
extended  accommodation  of  the  basilica,  almost  all  the  earlier  churches 
were  circular.  They  either,  however,  have  perished  from  lapse  of 
time,  or  have  been  so  altered  as  to  be  nearly  unrecognizable.  We  here, 
in  consequence,  come  again  to  a  break  in  the  chain  of  our  sequence, 
and  when  we  again  meet  with  any  circular  buildings  in  Italy,  their 
features  are  so  distinctly  Gothic  or  Byzantine,  that  they  must  be 
classed  with  one  or  other  of  these  modifications.  The  true  Romanesque 
had  nearly  come  to  an  end  when  Alboin  the 
Lombard  had  made  himself  master  of  the 
greater  part  of  Italy  about  the  year  575. 

Before  leaving  this  branch  of  the  subject 
there  are  two  small  buildings  at  Ravenna  which 
it  is  impossible  to  pass  over,  though  their  direct 
bearing  on  the  history  of  this  subject  is  not  so 
apparent  as  it  is  in  the  case  of  other  buildings 
just  described. 

The  first  and  earliest  is  the  tomb  of  Galla 
Placidia,  now  known  as  the  church  of  SS.  Na- 
zario  and  Celso,  and  must  have  been  erected 
before  the  year  450.  It  is  singular  among  all  the  tombs  of  that  age 
from  the  abandonment  in  it  of  the  circular  for  a  cruciform  plan.  Such 
forms,  it  is  true,  are  common  in  the  chambers  of  tumuli  and  also  among 
the  catacombs,  while  the  church  which  Constantine  built  in  Constanti- 
nople and  dedicated  to  the  Apostles,  meaning  it  however  as  a  sepulchral 
church,  was  something  also  on  this  plan.  Notwithstanding,  however, 
these  examples,  this  must  be  considered  as  an  exceptional  form,  though 
its  diminutiveness  (it  being  only  35  ft.  by  30  internally)  might  perhaps 
account  for  any  caprice.  Its  great  interest  to  us  consists  in  its  retain- 
ing not  only  its  original  architectural  form,  but  also  its  polychromatic 
decorations  nearly  in  their  original  state  of  completeness.^  The  three 
arms  of  the  cross  forming  the  receptacles  for  the  three  sarcophagi 
is  certainly  a  pleasing  arrangement,  but  is  only  practicable  on  so  small 
a  scale.  Were  the  building  larger,  it  would  lose  all  appropriateness 
as  well  as  all  effect. 

Far  more  interesting  than  this  —  architecturally  at  least  —  is 
the  tomb  of  Theodoric,  the  Gothic  king,  now  known  as  Santa  Maria 
Rotunda.  The  lower  story  is  a  decagon  externally,  enclosing  a  cruci- 
form crypt.    It  is  45  ft.  in  diameter,  each  face  being  ornamented 


304.    Tomb  .,1  Calla  Placidia, 
Kaveiina. 
(From  Quast.)   No  scale. 


1  These  are  well  illustrated  in  Quast,  "  Altchristlichen  Bauwerke  zu  Ravenna.'* 
Also  by  Hubsch  and  others. 


bk.  1.  ch.  iii.  circular  churches.  439 

by  a  deep  niche.  These  support  a  flat  terrace,  on  which  originally 
stood  a  range  of  small  pillars  supporting  arches  which  surrounded 
the  upper  story.  These  have  all  been  removed,  though  their  form 
can  be  restored  from  fragments  found,  and  as  shown  in  Woodcut 
No.  305.    On  the  face  of  the  tomb  itself  are  the  sinkings  for  the 


305.   Capital  of  Pillars  forming  Peristyle  round 
Tlieodoric's  Tomb.   (From  Hubsch.) 


306. 


Plan  of  Tomb  of  Theodorlc 
Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


architraves  and  vaults  which  they  supported.  The  most  singular  part 
of  the  building  is  the  roof,  which  is  formed  of  one  great  slab,  hollowed 
out  into  the  form  of  a  flat  dome  —  internally  30  ft.  and  externally 
35  ft.  in  diameter,  and  which  certainly 
forms  one  of  the  most  unique  and  ap- 
propriate coverings  for  a  tomb  perhaps 
anywhere  to  be  found.  Near  the  edge 
are  a  range  of  false  dormer  windows, 
which  evidently  were  originally  used 
as  handles,  by  means  of  which  the 
immense  mass  was  raised  to  its  present 
position.  In  the  centre  of  the  dome  is 
a  small,  square  pedestal,  on  which,  it  is 
said,  once  stood  the  urn  which  con- 
tained the  ashes  of  its  founder. 

The  model  of  this  building  seems 
probably  to  have  been  the  Mole  of 
Hadrian,  which  Theodoric  saw,  and 
must  have  admired,  during  his  celebrated  visit  to  Rome.  The  polygonal 
arrangements  of  the  exterior,  and  the  substitution  of  arcades  for 
horizontal  architraves,  were  only  such  changes  as  the  lapse  of  time 
had  rendered  indispensable.  But  the  building  of  the  ancient  world 
which  it  most  resembles  is  the  Tour  Magne  at  Nimes.  In  both  cases 
we  have  the  polygonal  basement  containing  a  great  chamber,  and 
above  this  externally  the  narrow  ledge,  approached  by  flying  flights 
of  steps.  We  cannot  now  tell  what  crowned  the  French  example, 
though  the  fact  of  an  urn  crowning  the  tomb  at  Ravenna  points  to  an 
identical  origin.  But  we  must  obtain  a  greater  number  of  examples 
before  we  can  draw  any  positive  conclusions  as  to  the  origin  of  such 
forms.  Meanwhile,  however,  whether  we  consider  the  appropriateness 
of  the  forms,  the  solidity  of  its  construction,  or  the  simplicity  of  its 


307. 


Elevation  of  Tomb  of  Theodoric, 
Ravenna.    (From  Isabelle,  "  Edi- 
fices Circulaires.") 


440 


ROMANESQUE  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  11. 


ornaments  and  details,  this  tomb  at  Ravenna  is  not  surpassed  by  an}- 
building  of  its  class  and  age. 

Though  the  investigation  of  the  early  history  of  these  circular 
forms  of  churches  is  not  so  important  as  that  of  the  rectangular 
basilicas,  it  is  extremely  interesting  from  the  influence  they  had  on 
the  subsequent  development  of  the  style.  In  Italy  it  is  probable  that 
one  half  of  the  early  churches  were  circular  in  plan  ;  and  one  such  is 
still  generally  retained  attached  to  each  cathedral  as  a  baptistery. 
Except  for  this  purpose,  however,  the  form  has  generally  been  super- 
seded :  the  rectangular  being  much  easier  to  construct,  more  capable 
of  extension,  and  altogether  more  appropriate  to  the  ritual  of  the 
Christian  community.  In  France  the  circular  form  was  early  absorbed 
into  the  basilica,  forming  the  chevet  or  apse.  In  Germany  its  fate 
was  much  the  same  as  in  Italy,  but  its  supersession  was  earlier  and 
more  complete.  In  England  some  half  dozen  examples  are  known  to 
exist,  and  in  Spain  they  have  yet  to  be  discovered. 

Had  the  Gothic  architects  applied  themselves  to  the  extension  and 
elaboration  of  the  circular  form  with  the  same  zeal  and  skill  as  was 
displayed  in  that  task  by  their  Byzantine  brethren,  they  might  prob- 
ably have  produced  something  far  more  beautiful  than  even  the  best 
of  our  mediaeval  cathedrals ;  but  when  the  Barbarians  began  to  build, 
they  found  the  square  form  with  its  straight  lines  simpler  and  easier 
to  construct.  It  thus  happened  that,  long  before  they  became  as 
civilized  and  expert  as  the  Easterns  were  when  they  commenced  the 
task,  the  Westerns  had  worked  the  rectangular  form  into  one  of  con- 
siderable beauty,  and  had  adapted  it  to  their  ritual,  and  their  ritual 
to  it.  It  thus  became  the  sacred  and  appropriate  form,  and  the  cir- 
cular or  domical  forms  were  consequently  never  allowed  a  fair  trial 
in  Western  Europe. 

Secular  Buildings. 

Very  few  remains  of  secular  buildings  in  the  Romanesque  style 
are  now  to  be  found  in  Italy.  The  palace  of  Theodoric  at  Ravenna, 
though  sadly  mutilated,  is  perhaps  the  best  and  most  perfect.  In  all 
its  details  it  shows  a  close  resemblance  to  that  of  Diocletian  at 
Spalatro,  but  more  especially  so  to  the  Porta  Aurea  and  the  most 
richly  and  least  classically  decorated  parts  of  that  edifice,  but  much 
intermixed  with  mouldings  and  details  belonging  properly  to  the 
Gothic  styles,  which  were  then  on  the  eve  of  being  introduced  into 
general  use. 

Another  building,  perhaps  slightly  more  modern,  is  that  which  is 
now  called  the  Palazzo  delle  Torre  at  Turin,  which  still  retains  the 
architectural  ordinance  of  the  exterior  of  a  Roman  amphitheatre,  but 
so  modified  by  Gothic  feeling  that  the  pilasters  are  even  more  useless 


Bk.  I.  Ch.  III. 


SECULAR  BUILDINGS. 


441 


and  unmeaning  than  in  its  classical  prototypes.  In  this  example  the 
style  is  evidently  beginning  to  feel  its  own  strength  and  learning  to 
dispense  with  the  traditional  forms  tliat 
had  so  long  governed  it.  In  this  building, 
to  whicii  no  more  precise  date  can  be  as- 
signed than  that  of  the  age  between  Jus- 
tinian and  Charlemagne,  is  probably  seen 
the  last  expiring  effort  of  Romanesque 
architecture  in  a  Gothic  country,  though 
the  paucity  of  contemporary  examples  ren- 
ders it  extremely  difficult  to  trace  the  exact 
history  of  the  style  at  tliis  age. 

In  so  progressive  an  art  as  architecture 
it  is  always  very  difficult,  sometimes  impos- 
sible, to  fix  the  exact  date  when  one  style 
ends  and  another  begins.  In  an  art  so 
pre-eminently  ecclesiastical  as  architecture 
was  in  those  days,  it  will  probably  be  safer 
to  look  in  the  annals  of  the  Church  rather 
than  in  those  of  the  State  for  a  date  when 
the  Romanesque  expired,  giving  birth, 
Phoenix-like,  to  the  Gothic.  Viewed  from 
this  point  there  can  be  little  doubt  but 
that  the  reign  of  Gregory  the  Great  (a.d.  308, 
590  to  603)  must  be  regarded  as  that  in 
which  the  Latin  language  and  the  Roman 

style  of  architecture  both  ceased  to  be  generally  or  even  conimon-y 
employed. 

After  this  date  we  wander  on  through  five  centuries  of  tentative 
efforts  to  form  a  new  style,  and  in  the  age  of  another  Gregory  —  the 
VII.  —  we  find  at  last  the  Gothic  style  emancipated  from  former  tra- 
ditions, and  marching  steadily  forward  with  a  well-defined  aim. 
What  had  been  commenced  under  the  gentle  influence  of  a  Theode- 
linda  at  Florence  in  the  year  600,  was  completed  in  the  year  1077 
under  the  firmer  guidance  of  a  Matilda  at  Canossa. 


Palazzo  delle  Torre.  Turin. 
(From  Osten's  "  Bauwerke  in  der 
Lombardei.") 


442 


FRENCH  ARCPIITECTLTilE. 


Part  IL 


BOOK  IL 

FRANCE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CONTENTS. 

Division  of  subject  —  Pointed  arches  —  Provence  —  Churches  at  Avignon,  Aries, 
Alet,  Fontifroide,  Magiielone,  Vienne  —  Circular  churches  —  Towers  — 
Cloisters. 


CHEONOLOGY. 


DATES. 

Charlemagne   a.d.  768-813 

Kollo,  first  Duke  of  Normandy    ...  911 

Hugh  Capet   987 

William  II.  of  Normandy,  or  the  Con- 
queror   1055-1086 

Henry  I.  of  France    1031 

Philip  I.,  or  I'Amoureux   1060 

Louis  Vr.,  or  le  Gros   1108 

I^ouis  VII.,  or  le  fleune   1137 

St.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux  .    .    .  1091-1153 

Philip  II.,  or  I'Auguste   1180 

I.ouis  VIII.,  or  the  Lion   1223 

Louis  IX.,  or  the  Saint   1226 


Philip  nr.,  the  Hardy  a.d.  1270 

Philip  IV.,  or  the  Fair   1285 

Philip  VI.  of  Valois   1328 

Battle  of  Crecy   1346 

John  II.,  the  Good   1350 

Charles  V.,  the  Wise   1364 

Charles  VI.,  the  Beloved   1380 

Charles  VII.,  the  Victorious   ....  1422 

Joan  of  Arc  1412-1431 

Louis  XI   1461 

Charles  VIII   1483 

Louis  XII   1498 

Francis  1   1515 


TO  tliose  who  do  not  look  beyond  tlie  present,  France  appears  to 
be  one  of  the  most  homogeneous  of  all  the  countries  of  Euroj^e, 
inhabited  by  a  people  speaking  one  language,  professing  one  religion, 
governed  by  the  same  laws,  and  actuated  by  the  same  feelings  and  aspi- 
rations; yet  it  certainly  is  not  so  in  reality,  and  in  the  Middle  Ages 
the  distinctions  between  the  various  races  and  peoples  were  strongly 
marked  and  capable  of  easy  definition.  Wars,  persecutions,  and  rev- 
olutions have  done  much  to  obliterate  these,  and  the  long  habit  of 
living  under  a  centralized  despotism  has  produced  a  superficial  uni- 
formity which  hides  a  great  deal  of  actual  diversity.  The  process  of 
fusion  commenced  apparently  about  the  reign  of  Louis  the  Saint 
(a.d.  1226),  and  has  gone  on  steadily  ever  since.  Before  his  time 
France  was  divided  into  six  or  eight  great  ethnographic  provinces, 
which  might  now  be  easily  mapped  out,  though  their  boundaries  fre- 
quently differed  widely  from  the  political  division  of  the  land. 

No  systematic  attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  construct  an  ethno- 
graphic map  of  the  country  from  the  architectural  remains,  though  it 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


DIVISION  OF  SUBJECT. 


443 


is  easy  to  see  how  it  might  be  done.  What  is  wanted  is  that  some 
competent  archaeologist  should  do  for  the  ethnography  of  France  what 


309.   Diagram  of  the  Architectural  Divisions  of  France.^ 


Dr.  W.  Smith  did  at  the  end  of  the  last  century  for  the  geology  of 
England.  Like  that  early  pioneer  of  exact  knowledge  in  his  peculiar 
department,  he  must  be  content  to  wander  from  province  to  province, 


^  A  small  chart  of  the  same  sort  has 
been  published  by  M.  de  Caumont,* 
which,  though  an  improvement,  still 
leaves  much  to  be  desired;  but  until 
every  church  is  examined,  and  every 
typical  specimen  at  least  published,  it  is 


*  **  Ab^cMaire  d' Architecture,"  p.  174. 


impossible  to  mark  out  more  than  the 
general  features  of  the  chart.  Imper- 
fect, however,  as  they  are  in  this  one, 
they  are  still  more  numerous  and  more 
detailed  than  it  will  be  easy  for  us  to 
follow  and  to  trace  out  in  the  limited 
space  of  this  work.  ^ 


444 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


from  village  to  village,  visiting  every  church,  and  examining  every 
architectural  remain,  comparing  one  with  another,  tracing  their 
affinities,  and  finally  classifying  and  mapping  the  whole.  It  is 
probable  that  the  labor  of  one  man  would  hardly  suffice  for  this 
purpose.  Monographs  would  be  required  to  complete  the  task,  but 
it  is  one  of  such  singular  interest  that  it  is  hoped  it  may  soon  be 
undertaken. 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  in  attempting  anything  of  the  sort  at 
present  is  the  nomenclature.  When  the  science  is  further  advanced, 
such  names  as  Silurian,  Cambrian,  etc.,  will  no  doubt  be  invented,  but 
at  present  we  must  be  content  with  the  political  name  which  seems 
most  nearly  to  express  the  ethnograj)hical  distribution ;  though  in 
scarcely  a  single  instance  will  these  be  found  strictly  correct,  all  in 
consequence  being  open  to  adverse  criticism.  In  France  it  frequently 
happened  that  two  or  more  ethnograpliic  provinces  were  united  under 
one  sceptre  —  eventually  all  were  merged  into  one  —  and  during  the 
various  changes  tliat  took  place  in  the  Middle  Ages,  it  M^as  only  by 
accident  that  the  political  boundary  exactly  agreed  for  any  great 
length  of  time  Avith  the  ethnogra])l)icah 

In  Germany,  on  the  contrary,  a  single  race  is  and  was  cut  up  into 
numerous  political  divisions,  so  that  it  becomes,  from  the  opposite 
cause  alone,  equally  difficult  to  apply  a  nomenclature  which  shall 
correctly  represent  the  facts  of  the  case. 

In  such  a  work  as  this  it  would  be  manifestly  absurd  to  attempt  to 
adjust  all  this  with  anything  like  minute  accuracy,  but  the  principal 
features  are  so  easily  recognized  that  no  great  confusion  can  arise  in 
the  application  of  such  names  as  are  usually  employed,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  before  long  a  better  system  of  nomenclature  will  be 
invented  and  applied. 

We  may  rest  assured  of  one  thing,  at  all  events,  which  is,  that  the 
architectural  remains  in  France  are  as  sufficient  for  the  construction 
of  an  ethnographic  map  of  that  country  as  the  rocks  are  for  the  com- 
pilation of  a  geological  survey.  If  the  one  opens  out  to  the  student 
an  immense  expanse  of  scientific  knowledge,  the  other  is  hardly  of 
less  interest,  though  in  a  less  extended  field.  There  are  few  studies 
more  pleasing  than  that  of  tracing  the  history  of  man  through  his 
works,  and  none  bring  the  former  condition  of  humanity  so  vividly 
back  to  us  as  those  records  which  have  been  built  into  the  walls  of 
their  temples  or  their  palaces  by  those  who  were  thus  unconsciously 
recording  their  feelings  for  the  instruction  of  their  posterity. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  the  student  in  examining  architecturally 
the  map  of  France  is  the  recurrence  of  the  same  phenomena  as  was 
remarked  in  that  of  Italy,  a  division  into  two  nearly  equal  halves  by 
a  boundary  line  running  east  and  west.    In  both  countries,  to  the 
** southward  of  this  line  the  land  was  occupied  by  a  Romanesque  people 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


DIVISION  OF  SUBJECT. 


who,  though  conquered,  were  never  colonized  l)y  the  Barbarians  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  alter  their  blood  or  consequently  the  ethnographic 
relations  of  the  people.  North  of  the  line  the  Goths  and  Lombards  in 
Italy,  and  the  Franks  in  Gaul,  settled  in  such  numbers  as  to  influence 
very  considerably  the  status  of  the  races,  in  some  instances  almost  to 
the  obliteration  of  their  leading  characteristics. 

In  France  the  boundary  line  follows  the  valley  of  the  Loire  near 
its  northern  edge  till  it  passes  l)ehind  Tours;  it  crosses  that  river 
between  that  city  and  Orleans,  follows  a  somewhat  devious  course  to 
Lyons,  and  up  the  valley  of  the  Rhone  to  Geneva. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  the  two  races  were  roughly  designated  as 
those  speaking  the  Langue  d'oc  and  the  Langue  d'oeil  —  somewhat 
more  correctly  those  to  the  south  were  called  Romance,  ^  those  to  the 
north  Frankish ;  but  the  truth  is  the  distinction  is  too  broad  to  be 
now  clearly  defined,  and  we  must  descend  much  more  into  detail 
before  any  satisfactory  conclusion  can  be  arrived  at. 

On  the  south  of  the  line,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  as  well  as 
the  best  defined  architectural  provinces  is  that  I  have  ventured  to 
designate  as  Provence  or  Provenyal.  Its  limits  are  very  nearly 
coincident  with  those  of  Gallia  Narbonensis,  and  "Narbonese  "  would 
consequently  be  a  more  correct  designation,  and  would  be  adopted  if 
treating  of  a  classical  style  of  art.  It  has,  however,  the  defect  of 
including  Toulouse,  which  does  not  belong  to  the  province,  and 
consequently  the  name  affects  an  accuracy  it  does  not  possess.  It 
may,  therefore,  be  better  at  present  to  adopt  the  vague  name  of 
the  "  Provence " />ar  excellence,  especially  as  Provenyal  is  a  word 
applied  by  French  authors  to  literary  matters  much  in  the  sense 
it  is  here  used  to  define  an  architectural  division.  The  whole  of  the 
south  coast  of  France  from  the  Alps  to  the  Pyrenees  belongs  to 
this  province,  and  it  extends  up  the  valley  of  the  Rhone  as  far  as 
Lyons,  and  is  generally  bounded  by  the  hills  on  either  on  side  of  that 
river. 

Perhaps  the  best  mode  of  defining  the  limits  of  the  Aquitanian 
province  would  be  to  say  that  it  includes  all  those  towns  whose 
names  end  with  the  Basque  article  ac,  consequently  indicating  the 
presence  at  some  former  period  of  a  people  sj^eaking  that  language 
or  something  very  closely  allied  to  it,  or  at  all  events  differing  from 
those  of  the  rest  of  France.  It  is  only  on  the  eastward  that  the 
line  seems  difficult  to  define.    There  are  some  towns,  such  as  Barjac, 


1  The  use  of  this  term  is  a  little  awk- 
ward at  first  from  its  having  another 
meaning  in  English;  it  has,  however, 
long  been  used  by  English  etymologists 
to  distinguish  the  Romance  languages, 
such  as  Italian,  Spanish,  and  French, 


from  those  of  Teutonic  origin,  and  is 
here  used  in  precisely  the  same  sense  as 
applied  to  architecture  —  to  those  styles 
derived  from  the  Roman,  but  one  de- 
gree more  removed  from  it  than  the 
Romanesque. 


446 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Quissac,  Gignac,  in  the  valley  of  the  Rhone,  in  situations  that  would 
seem  to  belong  to  Provence,  and  until  their  churches  are  examined  it 
is  impossible  to  say  to  which  they  belong.  On  the  south  Aquitania  is 
bounded  by  the  Pyrenees,  on  the  west  by  the  sea,  and  on  the  north 
by  a  line  running  nearly  straight  from  the  mouth  of  the  Garonne  to 
Langeac,  near  to  Le  Puy  en  Velay. 

The  third  is  designated  that  of  Anjou,  or  the  Angiovine,  from  its 
most  distinguished  province.  This  includes  the  lower  pare  of  the 
Loire,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north-east  by  the  Cher.  Between  it  and 
the  sea  is  a  strip  ot'  land,  including  the  Angoumois,  Saintonge,  and 
Vendee,  which  it  is  not  easy  to  know  where  to  place.  It  may  belong, 
so  far  as  we  yet  know,  to  either  Aquitania  or  Anjou,  or  possibly  may 
deserve  a  separate  title  altogetlier ;  but  in  the  map  it  is  annexed  for 
the  present  to  Poitou  or  the  Angiovine  provmce. 

In  Brittany  the  two  styles  meet,  and  are  so  mixed  together  that  it 
is  impossible  to  sej)arate  them.  In  that  district  there  is  neither  pure 
Romance  nor  pure  Frankish,  but  a  style  partaking  of  the  peculiarities 
of  each  without  belonging  to  either. 

Besides  these,  there  is  the  small  and  secluded  district  of  Auvergne, 
having  a  style  peculiarly  its  own,  which,  though  certainly  belonging 
to  the  southern  province,  is  easily  distinguished  from  any  of  the 
neighboring  styles,  and  is  one  of  the  most  pleasing  to  be  found  of  an 
early  age  in  France. 

Beyond  this  to  the  eastward  lies  the  great  Burgundian  province, 
jiaving  a  well-defined  and  well-marked  style  of  its  own,  influenced  by 
or  influencing  all  those  around  it.  Its  most  marked  characteristic  is 
what  may  be  called  a  mechanical  mixture  of  the  classical  and  medijeval 
styles  without  any  real  fusion.  Essentially  and  constructively  the 
style  is  Gothic,  but  it  retained  the  use  of  Corinthian  pilasters  and 
classical  details  till  late  in  the  Middle  Ages  :  Burgundy  was  also  in  the 
Middle  Ages  the  country  of  monasticism  par  excellence  —  a  circum- 
stance which  had  considerable  influence  on  her  forms  of  art. 

Taking,  then,  a  more  general  view  of  the  Southern  province,  it 
will  be  seen  that  if  a  line  were  drawn  from  Marseilles  to  Brest,  it 
Avould  pass  nearly  through  the  middle  of  it.  At  the  south-eastern 
extremity  of  such  a  line  we  should  find  a  style  almost  purely 
Romanesque,  passing  by  slow  and  equal  gradations  into  a  Gothic 
form  at  its  other  terminal. 

On  turning  to  the  Frankish  province  the  case  is  somewhat  differ- 
ent. Paris  is  here  the  centre,  from  which  everything  radiates ;  and 
though  the  Norman  invasion,  and  other  troubles  of  those  times,  with 
the  rebuilding  mania  of  the  13th  century,  have  swept  away  nearly 
all  traces  of  the  early  buildings,  still  it  is  easy  to  see  how  the  Gothic 
style  arose  in  the  Isle  of  France,  and  how  it  spread  from  thence  to  all 
the  neighboring  provinces. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


DIVISION  OF  SUBJECT. 


447 


In  consequence,  however,  of  the  loss  of  its  early  buildings,  and 
of  its  subsequent  pre-eminence  and  supercession  of  the  earlier  styles, 
the  description  of  its  features  natui'ally  follows  that  of  the  subor- 
dinate provinces,  and  concludes  the  history  of  the  mediaeval  styles  in 
France. 

Not  to  multiply  divisions,  we  may  include  in  the  Northern  province 
many  varieties  that  will  afterwards  be  marked  as  distinct  in  maps  of 
French  architecture,  especially  at  the  south-east,  w^here  the  Nivernois 
and  Bourbonnois,  if  not  deserving  of  se])arate  honors,  at  least  consist 
of  such  a  complete  mixture  of  the  Frankish  and  Burgundian  with  the 
Southern  styles,  that  they  cannot  strictly  be  said  to  belong  to  any  one 
in  particular,  though  they  partake  of  all.  The  Northern,  however,  is 
certainly  the  predominant  element,  and  with  that  therefore  they  should 
be  classed. 

"J'o  the  westAvard  lies  the  architectural  province  of  Normandy,  one 
of  the  mo«t  vigorous  offshoots  of  the  Frankish  style :  and  from  the 
power  of  the  Norman  dukes  in  the  11th  and  12th  centuries,  and  the 
accidental  circumstance  of  its  prosperity  in  those  centuries  when 
the  rest  of  France  was  prostrate  from  their  ravages  and  torn  by 
internal  dissensions,  the  Round  Gothic  style  shows  itself  here  with  a 
vigor  and  completeness  not  found  elsewhere.  It  is,  however,  evidently 
only  the  Frankish  style  based  remotely  on  Roman  tradition,  but  which 
the  Barbarians  used  with  a  freedom  and  boldness  which  soon  converted 
it  into  a  purely  national  Gothic  form.  This  soon  ripened  into  the 
complete  Gothic  style  of  the  13th  century,  which  was  so  admired  that 
it  soon  spread  over  the  whole  face  of  Europe,  and  became  the  type  of 
all  Gothic  architecture. 

Alsace  is  not  included  in  this  enumeration,  as  it  certainly  belongs 
architecturally  to  Germany.  Lorraine  too  is  more  German  than  French, 
and  if  included  at  all,  must  be  so  as  an  exceptional  transitional  prov- 
ince. French  Flanders  belonged,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  to  the  Belgian 
])rovinces  behind  it,  and  may  therefore  also  be  disregarded  at  present ; 
but  even  after  rejecting  all  these,  enough  is  still  left  to  render  it  diffi- 
cult to  remember  and  follow  all  the  changes  in  style  introduced  by 
these  different  races,  and  which  marked  not  only  the  artistic  but  the 
political  state  of  France  during  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  six  terri- 
torial peers  of  France,  the  Counts  of  Toulouse,  Aquitaine,  Normandy, 
Burgundy,  Champagne,  and  Flanders,  represented  the  six  principal 
provinces  of  the  kingdom,  under  their  suzerain,  the  Count  or  King  of 
Paris.  These  very  divisions  might  now  be  taken  to  represent  the 
architectural  distinctions,  were  it  not  that  the  pre-eminence  of  these 
great  princes  belongs  to  a  later  epoch  than  the  architectural  divisions 
which  we  have  pointed  out,  and  which  we  must  now  describe  some- 
what more  at  length. 


448 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Pointed  Arches. 

Before  proceeding  to  describe  these  various  styles  in  detail,  it  may 
add  to  the  clearness  of  what  follows  if  the  mode  in  which  the  pointed 
arch  was  first  introduced  into  Christian  architecture  is  previously 
explained.  It  has  already  been  shown  that  the  pointed  arch  with 
radiating  voussoirs  was  used  by  the  Assyrians  as  early  as  the  time  of 
Sargon  in  the  8th  century  b.c,  and  by  the  Ethiopians  as  early  as  that 
of  Tirhakah.  The  Etrurians  and  Pelasgi  used  the  form  probably  twelve 
centuries  before  the  Christian  era,  but  constructed  it  with  horizontal 
courses.  To  come  nearer,  however,  to  our  own  time,  the  Saracens  cer- 
tainly adopted  it  at  Cairo  in  the  first  century  of  the  Hegira,  and  em- 
ployed it  generally  if  not  universally,  and  never  apparently  used  a  round 
arch  after  the  erection  of  the  mosque  of  Ebn  Touloun,  a.d.  885. 

The  Romanesque  traditions,  however,  prevented  the  Christians 
from  adopting  it  in  Europe  till  forced  to  do  it  from  constructive 
necessities  ;  and  the  mode  of  its  introduction  into  the  early  churches  in 
Provence  renders  them  singularly  important  in  enabling  us  to  arrive 
at  a  correct  solution  of  this  much  mooted  question. ^ 

It  is  hardly  worth  while  discussing  whether  the  form  was  borrowed 
from  the  East,  where  it  had  been  used  so  long  before  it  was  known  — 
or  at  least  before  we  are  aware  of  its  being  known  —  in  Europe.  It 
may  be  that  the  Pelasgic  Greeks  left  examples  of  it  in  Provence,  or 
that  persons  trading  to  the  Levant  from  Marseilles  became  familiar 
Avith  its  uses ;  or  it  may  be,  though  very  unlikely,  that  it  was  really 
re-invented  for  the  purposes  to  which  it  was  a})plied. 

In  whatever  way  it  was  introduced,  it  at  least  seems  certain  that 
all  the  churches  of  Provence,  from  the  age  of  Charlemagne  to  that  of 
St.  Louis,  were  vaulted,  and  have  their  vaults  constructed  on  the 
principle  of  the  pointed  arch.  It  has  nevertheless  long  been  a  received 
dogma  with  the  antiquaries  of  France,  as  well  as  with  those  of  England, 
that  the  pointed  arch  was  first  introduced  in  the  12th  century  —  the 
first  example  being  assumed  to  be  the  work  of  Abbot  Suger  at  St. 
Denis(1144-5'2),  the  result  of  which  is  that  all  who  have  written  on 
the  subject  of  Proven9al  architecture  have  felt  themselves  forced  to 
ascribe  the  age  of  the  churches  in  question,  or  at  least  of  their  roofs, 
a  date  subsequent  to  this  period. 

The  use  to  which  the  Provencal  architects  applied  the  pointed  arch 
will  be  evident  from  the  annexed  diagram,  the  left-hand  portion  of 
which  is  a  section  of  the  roof  of  one  of  the  churches  at  Vaison.  The 
object  evidently  was  to  lay  the  roof  or  roofing-tiles  directly  on  the 


1  For  the  detail  of  the  argument  I 
must  refer  the  reader  to  a  paper  read  by 
me  to  the  Institute  of  British  Architects 
on  June  18th,  1849,  and  published  in  the 


"  Builder,"  and  other  papers  of  the  time. 
See  also  a  paper  read  in  the  same  place 
in  the  following  month  (July,  1849),  by 
Sir  (xardner  Wilkinson. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


POINTED  ARCHES. 


U9 


vault,  as  the  Romans  had  done  on  their  domes,  and  also,  so  far  as  we 
know,  on  those  of  their  therm{]e.  Had  they  used  a  circular  vault  for 
this  purpose,  it  is  evident,  from  the  right-hand  side  of  the  diagram, 
that  to  obtain  a  straight-lined  roof  externally,  and  the  necessary  water- 
shed, it  would  have  been  requisite  to  load  the  centre  of  the  vault  to  a 
most  dangerous  extent,  as  at  a  ;  whereas  with  the  pointed  arch  it  only 
required  the  small  amount  of  filling  up  shown  at  b,  and  even  that 
might  have  been  avoided  by  a  little  contrivance  if  thought  necessary. 


310.   Diagram  of  Vaulting.    South  of  France, 


By  adopting  the  pointed  form  the  weights  are  so  distributed  as  to 
ensure  stability  and  to  render  the  vault  self-supporting.  It  has  already 
been  observed  that  the  Gothic  architects  everywhere  treated  their 
vaults  as  mere  false  ceilings,  covering  them  with  a  roof  of  wood  —  an 
expedient  highly  objectionable  in  itself,  and  the  cause  of  the  destruc- 
tion, by  fire  or  from  neglect,  of  almost  all  the  churches  we  now 
find  in  ruins  all  over  Europe ;  whereas,  had  they  adhered  either 
to  the  Roman  or  Romance  style  of  roofing,  the  constant  upholding 
hand  of  man  would  not  have  been  required  to  protect  their  buildings 
from  decay. 

The  one  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  general  adoption  of  this  mode 
of  roofing  was  the  difficulty  of  applying  it  to  intersecting  vaults.  The 
Romans,  it  is  true,  had  conquered  the  difficulty  ;  so  had  the  Byzantine 
architects,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  displaying  the  ends  of  the  vaults 
as  ornaments ;  and  even  at  St.  Mark's,  Venice,  this  system  is  adopted, 
and  with  the  additional  advantage  of  the  pointed  arch  might  have 
been  carried  further.  Still  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  was  not  easy  — 
that  it  required  more  skill  in  construction  and  a  better  class  of  masonry 
than  was  then  available  to  do  this  efficiently  and  Avell.  The  consequence 
is,  that  all  the  Romance  pointed  vaults  are  simple  tunnel-vaults  without 
intersections,  and  that  the  Gothic  architects,  when  they  adopted  the 
form,  slurred  over  the  difficulty  by  hiding  the  upper  sides  of  their 
vaults  beneath  a  temporary  wooden  roof,  which  protected  them  from 
the  injuries  of  the  weather.  This  certainly  was  one  of  the  greatest 
VOL.  I.  — 29 


450  FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE.  Part  II. 

mistakes  they  made  :  had  they  carefully  profiled  and  ornamented  the 
exterior  of  the  stone  roofs  in  the  same  manner  as  they  ornamented 
the  inside,  their  buildings  would  have  been  not  only  much  more 
beautiful,  but  much  more  permanent,  and  the  style  would  have  been 
saved  from  the  principal  falsity  that  now  deforms  it.  Even  as  it  is,  if 
we  wished  intelligently  to  adapt  the  Gothic  to  our  purposes,  instead 
of  merely  co})ying  it,  this  is  one  of  the  points  to  which  we  ought  first 
to  turn  our  attention. 

Another  circumstance  which  may  be  alluded  to  here,  when  speak- 
ing on  this  subject,  which  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  pointed  arch  at 
an  early  age  in  the  southern  provinces  of  France,  was  the  use  of  domes 
as  a  roofing  expedient.  These,  it  is  true,  are  not  found  in  Provence, 
but  they  are  common  in  Aquitaine  and  Anjou  —  some  of  them  certainly 
of  the  11th  century  ;  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  these  are 
not  the  earliest,  though  their  predecessors  have  perished  or  have  not 
yet  been  brought  to  light. 

There  is  no  one  who  has  studied  this  subject  who  is  not  aware  how 
excellent,  as  a  constructive  expedient,  the  pointed  arch  is  as  applied  to 
intersecting  vaults,  but  it  is  not  so  generally  understood  why  it  was 
equally  necessary  in  the  construction  of  domes.  So  long  as  these 
rested  on  drums  rising  from  the  ground  the  circular  form  sufficed  ;  but 
when  it  became  necessary  to  rest  them  on  pendentives  in  the  angles 
of  square  or  octagonal  buildings,  the  case  was  widely  different.  The 
early  Byzantine  architects  —  in  Sta.  Sophia  for  instance —  did  fit  pen- 
dentives to  circular  arches,  but  it  was  with  extreme  difficulty,  and 
required  very  great  skill  both  in  setting  out  and  in  execution.  But 
the  superiority  of  the  pointed  form  was  perceived  at  an  early  date  ; 
and  the  Saracens,  who  were  trammelled  by  no  traditions,  adopted 
it  at  once  as  a  doming  expedient  and  adhered  to  it  as  exclusively  as 
the  Gothic  architects  did  in  the  construction  of  their  vaults — and 
for  the  same  reason  —  simply  because  it  was  the  best  mode  of  con- 
struction. 

It  is  easy  to  explain  why  this  should  be  so.  In  the  annexed 
diagram,  fig.  1  represents  the  pendentives  of  a  dome  resting  on  circular 


311.      Fig.  1.  Fig.  2.  Fig.  3. 


arches.  At  a  they  become  evanescent,  and  for  some  distance  from  the 
centre  are  so  weak  that  it  is  only  by  concealed  construction  that  they 
can  be  made  to  do  their  work.  When  the  pointed  arch  is  introduced, 
as  in  fig.  2,  not  only  is  great  freedom  obtained  in  spacing,  but  the 
whole  becomes  constructively  correct ;  when,  as  in  fig.  3,  an  octagonal 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


POINTED  ARCHES. 


451 


arrangement  is  adopted,  the  whole  becomes  still  more  simple  and  easy, 
and  very  little  adjustment  is  required  to  lit  a  dome  to  an  octagon  ;  and 
if  the  angles  are  again  cut  off,  so  as  to  form  a  polygon  of  16  sides,  all 
the  exigencies  of  construction  are  satisfied. 

At  St.  Front  Perigeux,  at  Moissac,  and  at  Loches,  we  find  the 
pointed  arch,  introduced  evidently  for  this  purpose,  and  forming  a  class 
of  roofs  more  like  those  of  mosques  in  Cairo  than  any  other  buildings  in 
Europe.  It  is  true  they  now  look  bare  and  formal  —  their  decorations 
having  been  originally  painted  on  stucco,  which  has  peeled  off ;  but 
still  the  variety  of  form  and  perspective  they  afford  internally,  andtlie 
character  and  truthfulness  they  give  to  the  roof  as  seen  from  without, 
are  such  advantages  that  we  cannot  but  regret  that  tliese  two  ex])e- 
dients  of  stone  external  roofs  and  domes  were  not  ado})ted  in  Gothic. 
Had  the  great  architects  of  that  style  in  the  13th  century  carried  out 
these  with  their  characteristic  zeal  and  earnestness,  they  might  have 
left  us  a  style  in  every  respect  infinitely  more  perfect  and  beau- 
tiful than  the  one  they  invented,  and  which  we  are  copying  so  servilely, 
instead  of  trying,  with  our  knowdedge  and  means  of  construction,  to 
repair  the  errors  and  omissions  of  our  forefathers,  and  out  of  the 
inheritance  they  have  left  us  to  work  out  something  more  beautiful 
and  more  worthy  of  our  greater  refinement  and  more  advanced  civil  i- 
ization. 

The  practice  of  the  Greeks  in  respect  to  their  roofs  was  a  curious 
contrast  to  that  of  the  Mediaeval  architect.  Their  architecture,  as 
before  remarked,  being  essentially  external,  while  that  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  was  internal,  they  placed  the  stone  of  their  roof  on  the  outside, 
and  took  the  utmost  pains  to  arrange  the  covering  ornamentally ;  but 
they  supported  all  this  on  a  framework  of  wood,  which  in  every 
instance  has  perished.  It  is  difficult  to  say  which  was  the  greater 
mistake  of  the  two.  Both  were  wa-ong  without  doubt.  The  happy 
medium  seems  to  be  that  which  the  Romance  architects  aimed  at  —  a 
complete  homogeneous  roof,  made  of  the  most  durable  materials  and 
ornamented,  both  externally  and  internally ;  and  there  can  be  little 
doubt  but  that  this  is  the  only  legitimate  and  really  artistic  mode  of 
effecting  this  purpose,  and  the  one  to  which  attention  should  now  be 
turned.^ 

This  early  mode  of  employing  the  pointed  arch  is  so  little  under- 
stood generally  that,  before  leaving  this  branch  of  the  subject,  it  may 
be  well  to  quote  one  other  example  with  a  perfectly  authentic  date. 

The  Church  of  St.  Nazaire  at  Carcassone  was  dedicated  by  Pope 


1  The  Scotch  and  Irish  Celts  seem  to 
have  had  a  conception  of  this  truth,  and 
in  botli  tliese  countries  we  find  some 
bold  attempts  at  true  stone  roofs:  the 


influence,  however,  of  the  Gothic  races 
overpowered  tliem,  and  the  mixed  roof 
became  universal. 


452 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Urban  II.  in  1096.  It  was  not  then  quite  complete,  but  there  seems 
no  doubt  but  that  the  nave,  as  we  now  find  it,  was  finished  by  the  year 
1100.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  annexed  section,  the  side-aisles  and  all 
the  openings  are  constructed  with  round  arches ;  but  the  difficulty  of 
vaulting  the  nave  forced  on  the  architects  the  introduction  of  the 
pointed  arch.  It  is  here  constructed  solid,  with  flat  ribs  over  each 
pillar,  and  without  any  attempt  to  pierce  it  for  the  introduction  of 
light ;  and  as  the  west  end  is  blocked  up  —  fortified  in  fact  —  the  result 
is  gloomy  enough. 

This  example  is  also  interesting  when  looked  at  from  another  point 
•of  view.  If  we  turn  back  to  Woodcuts  Nos.  188  and  189,  and  compare 
ithem.with  this  section,  we  shall  be  able  to  gauge  exactly  the  changes 


312.   Section  of  Church  at  Carcassone,  with  the  outer  Aisles  added  in  the  14th  Century. 

No  scale. 

which  were  introduced,  and  the  progress  that  was  made,  during  the 
1000  years  that  elapsed  between  the  erection  of  these  two  buildings. 
In  the  plan  of  the  Temple  of  Diana  at  Nimes,  we  have  the  same  three- 
aisled  arrangement  as  at  Carcassone.  Their  dimensions  are  not  very 
dissimilar;  the  nave  at  Mmes  is  27  ft.  wide,  the  aisles  7|-  ft.  in  the 
clear.  At  Carcassone  th^s  becomes  25  ft.  and  10  ft.  respectively.  The 
aisles  are  in  the  early  e^:amples  separated  from  the  nave  by  screen 
walls,  adorned  with  pillars  which  are  mere  ornaments.  In  the  later 
example  the  pillars  have  become  the  main  support  of  the  roof,  the  wall 
being  omitted  between  them. 

The  roof  of  the  nave  in  both  instances  is  adorned  with  flat  ribs,  one 
over  each  pillar ;  but  at  Nimes  the  rib  is  rather  wider  than  the  space 
between.  At  Carcassone  the  rib  occupies  only  one  fourth  of  the 
width  of  the  bay.  One  of  their  most  striking  differences  is,  that  Nimes 
■displays  all  that  megalithic  grandeur  for  which  the  works  of  the 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


PROVENCE. 


453 


Romans  were  so  remarkable  ;  while  at  Carcassone  the  masonry  is  little 
better  than  rubble.  It  need  hardly  be  added  that  the  temj)le  displays 
an  elegance  of  detail  which  charms  the  most  fastidious  taste,  while 
the  decoration  of  the  church  is  rude  and  fantastic,  though  no  doubt 
picturesque  and  appropriate.  The  last  remark  must  not,  however,  be 
understood  as  a  reproach  to  Gothic  art,  for  the  choir  of  this  very  church, 
and  the  two  outer  arches  shown  in  the  woodcut  No.  312,  were  rebuilt 
in  the  year  1331,  with  an  elegance  of  detail  which,  in  a  constructive 
sense,  would  shame  the  best  classical  examples.  The  nave  is  a  tentative 
example  of  a  rude  age,  when  men  were  inventing,  or  trying  to  invent, 
a  new  style,  and  before  they  quite  knew  how  to  set  about  it.  The 
biulders  of  Carcassone  had  this  temple  at  Nimes  standing,  probably 
much  more  complete  than  it  is  now,  within  120  miles  of  them,  and 
they  were  attempting  to  copy  it  as  best  they  could.  It  is  probable, 
however,  they  had  also  other  models  besides  this  one,  and  certain  that 
this  was  not  the  first  attempt  to  reproduce  them.  The  differences  are 
considerable ;  but  the  similarities  are  so  great  that  we  ought  rather  to 
be  astonished  that  ten  centuries  of  experience  and  effort  had  not  shown 
more  progress  than  we  find. 


Provence. 

There  are  few  chapters  in  the  history  of  mediaeval  architecture 
which  it  would  be  more  desirable  to  have  fully  and  carefully  Avritten 
than  that  of  the  style  of  Provence  from  the  retirement  of  the  Romans 
to  the  accession  of  the  Franks.  This  country,  from  various  causes, 
retained  more  of  its  former  civilization  through  the  dark  ages  than 
any  other,  at  least  on  this  side  of  the  Alps.  Such  a  history,  however, 
is  to  be  desired  more  in  an  archaeological  than  in  an  architectural  point 
of  view ;  for  the  Provencal  churches,  compared  with  the  true  Gothic, 
though  numerous  and  elegant,  are  small,  and  most  of  them  have 
undergone  such  alterations  as  to  j^revent  us  from  judging  correctly  of 
tlieir  original  effect. 

Among  the  Proven9al  churches,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  is 
Xotre  Dame  de  Doms,  the  cathedral  at  Avignon  (Woodcut  No.  313). 
Like  all  the  others,  its  dimensions  are  small,  as  compared  with  those  in 
the  northern  province,  as  it  is  only  200  ft.  in  length,  and  the  nave  about 
20  ft.  in  width.  The  side-aisles  have  been  so  altered  and  rebuilt,  that 
it  is  difficult  to  say  what  their  plan  and  dimensions  originally  may 
have  been. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  and  the  least  altered  is  the  porch, 
which  is  so  purely  Romanesque  that  it  might  almost  be  said  to  be 
copied  from  such  examples  as  the  arches  on  the  bridge  of  Chamas 
(Woodcut  No.  220).  It  presents,  however,  all  that  attenuation  of  the 
horizontal  features  which  is  characteristic  of  the  Lower  Empire,  and 


454 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


cannot  rank  higher  than  the  Carlovingian  era ;  though  it  is  not  quite 
so  easy  to  determine  how  much  more  modern  it  may  be.  The  same 
ornaments  are  found  in  the  interior,  and  being  integral  parts  of  the 
ornamentation  of  the  pointed  roof,  have  led  to  various  theories  to 
account  for  this  copying  of  classical  details  after  the  period  at  which 
it  was  assumed  that  the  pointed  arch  had  been  introduced.  It  has 
been  sufficiently  explained  above,  how  early  this  was  the  case  as  a 


313.   Porch  of  Notre  Dame  de  Doms,  Avignon.   (From  Laborde's  "  Monuments  de  la  France.") 

vaulting  expedient  in  this  quarter ;  and  that  difficulty  being  removed, 
we  may  safely  ascribe  the  whole  of  the  essential  parts  of  this  church 
to  a  period  not  long,  if  at  all,  subsequent  to  the  age  of  Charlemagne. 

Next  perhaps  in  importance  to  this,  is  the  church  of  St.  Trophime 
at  Aries,  the  nave  of  which,  with  its  pointed  vault,  probably  belongs 
to  the  same  age,  though  its  porch  (Woodcut  No.  314),  instead  of  being 
the  earliest  part,  as  in  the  last  instance,  is  here  the  most  modern, 
having  been  erected  in  the  11th  century,  when  the  church  to  which  it 
is  attached  acquired  additional  celebrity  by  the  translation  of  the  body 
of  St.  Trophime  to  a  final  resting-place  within  its  walls.  As  it  is,  it 
forms  a  curious  and  interesting  pendent  to  the  one  last  quoted,  showing 
how  in  the  course  of  two  centuries  the  style  had  passed  from  debased 
Roman  to  a  purely  native  form,  still  retaining  a  strong  tradition  of 
its  origin,  but  so  used  and  so  ornamented  that,  were  we  not  able  to 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  L 


PROVENCE. 


455 


trace  back  the  steps  one  by  one  by  which  the  porch  at  Avignon  led 
to  that  of  Aries,  we  might  almost  be  inclined  to  doubt  the  succession. 


Porch  of  St.  Trophiiiie,  Aries.    (From  Cliapuy,  "  Moyen  Age  Monumental.") 


The  porches  at  Aix,  Cuxa,  Coustonges,  Prades,  Valcabre,  Tarascon, 
and  elsewhere  in  this  province,  form  a  series  of  singular  interest,  and 
of  great  beauty  of  detail  mixed  with  all  the  rich  exuberance  of  our  own 
Norman  doorways,  and  follow  one  another  by  such  easy  gradations 
that  the  relative  age  of  each  may  easily  be  determined. 

The  culminating  example  is  that  at  St.  Gilles,  near  the  mouths  of 
the  Rhone,  w^hich  is  by  far  the  most  elaborate  church  of  its  class,  but 
so  classical  in  many  of  its  details,  that  it  probably  is  somewhat  earlier 
than  this  one  at  Aries,  which  it  resembles  in  many  respects,  though 
far  exceeding  it  in  magnificence.  It  consists  of  three  such  porches 
placed  side  by  side,  and  connected  together  by  colonnades  —  if  they 
may  be  so  called  —  and  sculpture  of  the  richest  class,  forming  altogether 
a  frontal  decoration  unsurpassed,  except  in  the  northern  churches  of 
the  13th  century.  Such  porches,  however,  as  those  of  Rheims,  Amiens,, 
and  Chartres,  surpass  even  these  in  elaborate  richness  and  in  dimeii* 
sions,  though  it  may  be  questioned  if  they  are  really  more  beautiful  in 
design 


456 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


r*AUT  II. 


Tliere  is  another  clmrcli  of  tlie  Carlovingian  era  at  Orange,  and  one 
at  Nimes,  probably  belonging  to  the  9th  or  10th  century ;  both  hovv- 
e vei-  very  much  inj  ured  by  alterations  and  repairs.  In  the  now  deserted 
city  of  Vaison  there  are  two  churches,  so  classical  in  their  style,  that 
we  are  not  surprised  at  M.  Laborde,  i  and  the  French  antiquaries  in 
general,  classing  them  as  remains  of  the  classical  period.  In  any 
other  country  on  this  side  of  the  Alps  such  an  inference  would  be  in- 
evitable; but  here  another  code  of  criticism  must  be  applied  to  them. 
The  oldest,  the  chapel  of  St.  Quinide,  belongs  probably  to  the  9th  or 


315.   Apse  of  Church  at  Alet.    (From  Taylor  and  Nodier,  "  Voyages  dans  I'Ancienne  France.") 

10th  century.  It  is  small,  but  remarkably  elegant  and  classical  in  the 
style  of  its  architecture.  The  apse  is  the  most  singular  as  well  as  the 
most  ancient  part  of  the  church,  and  is  formed  in  a  manner  of  which 
no  other  example  is  found  anywhere  else,  so  far  as  I  know.  Exter- 
nally it  is  two  sides  of  a  square,  internally  a  semi-circle  ;  at  each  angle 
of  the  exterior  and  in  each  face  is  a  pilaster,  fairly  imitated  from  the 
Corinthian  order,  and  supporting  an  entablature  that  might  very  well 
mislead  a  Northern  antiquary  into  the  error  of  supposing  it  was  a 
Pagan  temple. 

The  cathedral,  though  larger,  is  more  Gothic  both  in  plan  and 


1  Laborde,    Monuments  de  la  France,"  vol.  i.  p.  92.  plates  cxv.  and  cxvi 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


mOVP^NCE. 


457 


detail,  though  not  without  some  classical  features,  and  is  entirely  fi'ce 
from  the  bold  rudeness  of  style  we  are  so  accustomed  to  associate  witli 
the  architecture  of  the  11th  century,  to  which  it  belongs.  Its  system 
of  vaulting  has  already  been  explained  (Woodcut  No.  810),  but  neither 
of  these  buildings  has  yet  met  with  the  attention  they  so  richly  merit 
from  those  who  are  desirous  of  tracing  the  progress  of  art  from  the 
decline  of  the  pure  Roman  to  the  rise  of  the  true  Gothic  styles. 

Taking  it  altogether,  perhaps  the  most  elegant  specimen  of  the 
style  is  the  ruined  —  now,  I  fear,  nearly  destroyed  —  churcli  of  Alet, 
which,  though  belong- 
ing to  the  11  til  century, 
was  singularly  classical 
in  its  details,  and  won- 
derfully elegant  in  every 
])art  of  its  design.  Of 
this  the  a|>se,  as  having 
undergone  no  subse- 
quent transformation, 
was  by  far  the  most  in- 
teresting, though  not 
the  most  beautiful  por- 
tion. Externally  the 
upper  part  was  adorned 
with  dwarf  Corintliian 
pilasters,  surmounted 
by  a  cornice  that  would 
not  discredit  the  build- 
ings of  Diocletian  at 
Spalatro ;  the  lower  part 
was  ornamented  by 
forms  of  more  Medic^e val 
character,  but  of  scarce- 
ly less  elegance.     In  the  sic.    internal  Angle  of  Apse  at  Alet.    (From  Taylor  and 

interior  the  triumphal  ^^^'^ 
arch,  as  it  would  be  called  in  a  Roman  basilica,  is  adorned  by  two 
Corinthian  pillars,  designed  with  the  bold  freedom  of  the  age,  though 
retaining  the  classical  forms  in  a  most  unexpected  degree. 

The  rest  of  the  cliurch  is  as  elegant  as  these  parts,  though  far  less 
classical,  the  necessities  of  vaulting  and  construction  requiring  a  dif- 
ferent mode  of  treatment,  and  a  departure  from  conventional  forms, 
which  the  architect  does  not  seem  to  have  considered  himself  at  lib- 
erty to  employ  in  the  apse. 

Another  singularly  elegant  specimen  of  this  style  is  the  cliurch  of 
St.  Paul  au  Trois  Chateaux,  near  Avignon  (Woodcuts  Nos.  317,  318). 
Its  details  are  so  eles^ant  and  so  classical  that  it  mig^ht  almost  be 


458 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Tart  II. 


mistaken  for  a  building  of  the  Lower  Empire  anterior  to  Justinian's 
time.  Its  plan,  however,  and  the  details  of  its  construction,  prove  that  it 
belongs  to  a  much  more  modern  date  ;  Yiollet  le  Due  would  even  bring 

 it  down  as  low  as  the  12th  cen- 

'  -------^     tury.    It  hardly  seems  possible 

that  it  should  be  so  modern  as 
this  ;  but  the  truth  is,  the  whole 
history  of  the  Romance  style 
in  this  province  has  still  to  be 
written.  It  has  not  yet  been 
examined  with  the  care  it  de- 
serves by  any  competent  author- 
ity, and  till  it  is  we  must  be  con- 
tent with  the  knowledge  that,  in 
I  he  neighborhood  of  the  Bouches 
du  Iwhone,  there  exists  a  group 
of  churches  whieli,  drawing 
their  inspiration  from  the  clas- 
sical remains  with  which  the 
(country  is  studded,  exhibit  an^ 
elegance  of  design  as  exquisite 
as  it  is  in  strange  contrast  with 
the  rude  vigor — almost  vul- 
garity —  which  characterized' 
the  works  of  the  Normans  in 
the  opposite  corner  of  the  land 
at  the  same  period. 

Passing  from  the  round-arched 
to  the  pointed  modifications  of 
this  style,  the  church  at  Fonti- 
froide,  near  Narbonne,  shows  it 
in  its  completeness,  perhaps 
better  than  any  other  example. 
There  not  only  the  roof  is 
pointed,  but  all  the  constructive 
openings  have  assumed  the 
same  forms.  The  windows  and 
doorways,  it  is  true,  still  retain 
their  circular  heads,  and  did 
retain  them  as  long  as  the  native 
style  flourished  —  the  pointed^ 
headed  opening  being  only  introduced  by  the  Franks  when  they 
occupied  this  country  in  the  time  of  Simon  de  Montfort. 

The  section  across  the  nave  (Woodcut  319)  shows  the  form  of  the 
central  vault,  which  the  longitudinal  section  shows  to  be  a  plain 


317.    Klevatiou  of  half  one  Bay  of  the  Exterior  of 
St.  Paxil  au  Trois  Chateaux. 


318.  Half  Bay  of  Interior  of  St.  Paul  au  Trois 
Chateaux.  (From  the  "  Archives  des 
Monuments  Historiques.") 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


PROVENCE. 


459 


tunnel-vault  unbroken  by  any  intersection  througliout  the  whole 
length  of  the  nave.  The  side-aisles  are  roofed  with  half  vaults,  form- 
ing abutments  to  the  central  arches  —  the  advantage  of  this  construc- 
tion being,  as  before  explained,  that  the  tiles  or  paving-stones  of  the 
roof  rest  directly  on  the  vault  without  tlio  intervention  of  any  car- 
pentry. Internally  also  the  building  displays  much  elegant  simplicity 
and  constructive  propriety.  Its  chief  defect  is  the  darkness  of  the 
vault  from  tlie  absence  of  a  clerestory,  which,  though  tolerable  in  the 
bright  sunshine  of  the  South,  could  not  be  borne  in  the  more  gloomy 
North.  It  was  to  correct  this,  as  we  shall  afterwards  ])erccive,  that 
in  the  North  the  roof  of  the  aisles  was  first  raised  to  the  height  of  that 
of  the  central  nave,  light  being  admitted  through  a  gallery.  Next 
the  upper  roof  the  aisles  were  cut  away,  with  the  exception  of  mere 


.'US).    Longitudinal  and  Cross  Section  of  Fontifroide  Church.    (From  Taylor  and  Nodier.) 


strips  or  ribs  left  as  flying  buttresses.  Lastly,  the  central  vault  was 
cut  up  by  intersections,  so  as  to  obtain  space  for  windows  to  the  very 
height  of  the  ridge.  It  was  tliis  last  expedient  that  necessitated  the 
adoption  of  the  pointed-headed  window.  It  might  never  have  been 
introduced  but  for  the  invention  of  painted  glass,  but  this  requiring 
larger  openings,  compelled  the  architects  to  bring  these  windows  close 
up  to  the  lines  of  the  constructive  vaulting,  and  so  follow  its  forms. 
In  the  South,  however,  painted  glass  never  was,  at  least  in  the  age  of 
which  we  are  now  speaking,  a  favorite  mode  of  decoration,  and  the 
windows  remained  so  small  as  never  to  approach  or  interfere  in  any 
way  with  the  lines  of  the  vault,  and  they  therefore  retained  their 
national  and  more  beautiful  circular-headed  termination.  The  modes 
of  introducing  light  are,  however,  undoubtedly  the  most  defective  part 
of  the  arrangements  of  the  Provengal  churches,  and  have  given  rise 
to  its  being  called  a  "  cavern-like  Gothic,"  i  from  the  gloom  of  their 


1  Wood's  "Letters  of  an  Architect,"  vol.  i.  163. 


460 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  H. 


interiors  as  compared  with  the  glass  walls  of  their  Northern  rivals. 
Still  it  by  no  means  follows  that  this  was  an  inherent  characteristic  of 
the  style,  which  could  not  have  been  remedied  by  further  experience  ; 
but  it  is  probable  that  no  ingenuity  would  over  have  enabled  this 
style  to  display  these  enormous  surfaces  of  painted  glass,  the  intro- 
duction of  which  was,  if  not  the  only,  at  least  the  principal  motive  of 
all  those  changes  which  took  place  in  the  Frankish  provinces. 

It  w^ould  be  tedious  to  nttem])t  to  describe  the  numerous  churches 
of  the  lltli  and  12th  centuries  which  are  found  in  every  considerable 

town  in  this  province :  some 
of  them,  however,  such  as  Elne, 
St.  Guillcm  ]o  Desert,  St.  Martin 
de  Landres,  Vignogoul,  Val- 
magne,  Lodeve,  etc.,  deserve 
particular  attention,  as  exem])li- 
fying  this  style,  not  only  in  its 
earlier  forms,  but  after  it  had 
passed  into  a  pointed  style, 
though  differing  very  consider- 
ably from  that  of  the  North. 
Among  these  there  is  no  church 
more  interesting  than  the  old 
ft)rtalice-like  church  of  Mngue- 
lone,  which,  from  its  exposed 
situation,  open  to  the  attacks 
of  Saracenic  corsairs  as  well  as 
Christian  robbers,  looks  moi-e 
like  a  baronial   castle  than  a 

320.   Doorway  in  Church  at  Magueloiie.    (From   peaceful    church.       One    of  its 
Reiiouvier,  "  Monuments  de  Bas  Languedoc")  ^ 

doorways  shows  a  curious  ad- 
mixture of  classical,  Saracenic,  and  Gothic  taste,  which  could  only 
be  found  here;  and  as  it  bears  a  date  (1178),  it  makes  an  epoch  in  the 
style  to  which  it  belongs. 

Had  it  been  completed,  the  church  of  St.  Gilles  would  perhaps 
have  been  the  most  splendid  of  the  province.  Its  portal  has  already 
been  spoken  of,  and  is  certainly  without  a  rival ;  and  the  lower  church, 
wdiich  belongs  to  the  11th  century,  is  worthy  of  its  magnificence.  It 
was,  however,  either  never  finished,  or  was  subsequently  ruined  along 
with  the  upper  church,  which  was  commenced  in  the  year  1116  by 
Raymond  lY.,  Co  ant  of  St.  Gilles.  This  too  was  probably  never  com- 
pleted, or,  if  it  was,  it  was  ruined  in  the  wars  with  the  Huguenots. 
Even  in  its  present  state,  and  though  wanting  the  richness  of  the 


1  These  are  all  illustrated  more  or  less  completely  by  Renouvier,  "  Monuments 
de  Bas  Languedoc,"  Montpelier,  1840. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


PROVENCE. 


461 


earlier  examples,  it  perhaps  surpasses  them  all  in  the  excellence  of  its 
masonry,  and  the  architectural  propriety  of  all  its  jiarts. 

Besides  these,  there  is  an  important  church  at  Valence  of  the  11th 
century,  which  seems  to  be  an  almost  expiring  effort  of  the  "  cavern- 
like "  style.  In  other  respects  it  resembles  the  Xorthern  styles  so 
much  as  almost  to  remove  it  from  the  rroven9al  class.  This  is  even 
more  true  of  the  cathedral  at  Vienne,  which  is  nevertheless  the  largest 
and  finest  of  the  churches  of  Provence,  but  which  approaches,  both  in 
style  and  locality,  very  closely  to  the  Burgundian  churches. 

Its  plan  is  extremely  simple,  having  no  transept  and  no  aisle  trend- 
ing round  the  apse,  as  is  the  case  with  most  of  the  Northern  churches. 
It  consists  of  three  aisles,  the  central  one 
35  ft.  wide  between  the  piers,  the  others 
14  ft.  The  buttresses  are  internal,  as 
was  usual  in  the  South,  forming  chapels, 
and  making  up  the  whole  width  exter- 
nally to  118  ft.  by  a  length  over  all  of 
300,  so  that  it  covers  somewhere  about 
30,000  sq.  ft.  This  is  only  half  the  di- 
mensions of  some  of  the  great  ISTorthern 
cathedrals,  l)ut  the  absence  of  transepts, 
and  its  generally  judicious  proportions, 
make  this  church  look  much  larger  than 
it  really  is. 

The  west  front  and  the  three  western 
bays  are  of  the  16tli  century ;  the  next 
seven  are  of  an  early  style  of  pointed 
architecture,  with  semi-Roman  pilasters 
which  will  be  described  in  s|)eaking  of 
Burgundian  architecture,  and  which  be- 
long probably  to  the  11th  or  beginning 
of  the  12th  century.  The  aj)se  is  ascribed 
to  the  year  952,  but  there  are  no  drawings 

on  wliich  sufficient  dependence  can  be  ])laced  to  determine  the  date. 

Besides  this,  there  is  another  church,  vSt.  Andre  le  Bas  at  Vienne, 
belonging  to  the  11th  century,  whose  tower  is  one  of  the  most  pleasing 
instances  of  this  kind  of  composition  in  the  province,  and  though 
evidently  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Roman  and  Italian  campaniles, 
displays  an  amount  of  design  seldom  met  with  beyond  the  Alps. 


321.  ('atli<Mli;il.  \ 


From  ^^  le- 
100  U.  to  1  111. 


CiKCULAR  Churches. 

The  round  shape  seems  never  to  have  been  a  favorite  for  sacred 
buildings  in  Provence,  and  consequently  was  never  worked  into  the 
apses  of  the  churches  nor  became  an  imj^ortant  adjunct  to  them.  One 


462 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  H. 


322.    Plan  of  Church  at  Phmes. 
(From  Taylor  and  Nodier.) 


of  the  few  examples  found  is  a  small  baptistery  attached  to  the  cathe- 
dral at  Aix,  either  very  ancient  or  built  with  ancient  materials,  and 

now  painfully  modernized.  At  Riez  there 
is  a  circular  detached  baptistery,  usually, 
like  the  churches  at  Vaison,  called  a  pagan 
temple,  but  evidently  of  Christian  origin, 
tliough  the  pillars  in  the  interior  seem  un- 
doubtedly to  have  been  borrowed  from 
some  more  ancient  and  classical  edifice.  But 
the  finest  of  its  class  is  the  church  at  Rieux, 
probably  of  the  11th  century.  Internally  the 
\'dn]t  is  supported  by  4  piers  and  3  pillars, 
producing  an  irregularity  far  from  pleas- 
ing, and  without  any  apparent  motive. 
At  Planes  is  another  church  the  plan  of  which  deserves  to  l)e  quoted, 
if  not  for  its  merit,  at  least  for  its  singularity  :  it  is  a  triangle  with  an 

apse  attached  to  each  side,  and  sup- 
porting a  circular  part  terminating 
in  a  ])lain  roof.  As  a  constructive 
puzzle  it  is  curious,  but  it  is  doubtful 
how  far  any  legitimate  use  could  be 
made  of  such  a  ccq^riccio. 

There  is,  so  far  as  I  know,  only 
one  triapsal  church,  that  of  St.  Croix 
at  Mont  Majour  near  Aries.  Built  as 
a  sepulchral  chapel,  it  is  a  singularly 
gloomy  but  appropriate  erection  ;  but 
it  is  too  tall  and  too  bare  to  rank 
high  as  a  building  even  for  such  a 
purpose. 

Towers. 

Provence  is  far  from  being  rich 
in  towers,  which  never  seem  there 
to  have  been  favorite  forms  of  arch- 
itectural display.  That  of  St.  Andre 
le  Bas  at  Vienne  has  already  been 
alluded  to,  but  this  at  Puissaiicon 
(Woodcut  No.  232)  near  Beziers  is 
even  mare  typical  of  the  style,  and 
standing  as  it  now  does  in  solitary 
grandeur  among  the  ruins  of  the 
church  once  attached  to  it,  has  a 
dignity  seldom  possessed  by  such  monuments.  In  style  it  resembles 
the  towers  of  Italy  more  than  any  found  farther  north,  but  it  is  not 


323.    Tower  at  Puissaiicon.  (From 
Ketiouvier.) 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  I. 


PROVENCE. 


463 


without  peculiarities  that  point  to  a  different  mode  of  elaborating  this 
peculiar  feature  from  anything  found  elsewhere.  As  a  design  its 
principal  defect  seems  to  be  a  want  of  lightness  in  the  upper  story. 
The  single  circular  opening  there  is  a  mistake  in  a  building  gradually 
growing  lighter  towards  its  summit. 

These  towers  were  very  seldom,  if  ever,  attached  symmetrically  to 
the  churches.  When  height  was  made  an  object,  it  was  more  fre- 
(juently  attained  by  carrying  up  the  dome  at  the  intersection  of  the 
clioir  with  the  nave.  At  Aries  this  is  done  by  a  lieavy  square  tower, 
gradually  diminishing,  but  still  massive  to  the  top  ;  but  in  most  in- 
stances the  square  becomes  an  octagon,  and  this  again  passes  into  a 


324.    Church  at  Cruas.    (From  Taylor  and  Nodier.) 


circle  which  terminates  the  composition.  One  of  the  best  specimens 
of  this  class  of  domes,  if  they  may  be  so  called,  is  the  church  of  Cruas 
(Woodcut  No.  324),  where  these  parts  are  pleasingly  subordinated, 
and  form,  with  the  apses  on  which  they  rest,  a  very  beautiful  com- 
position. The  defect  is  the  tiled  roofs  or  offsets  at  the  junction  of 
the  various  stories,  which  give  an  appearance  of  weakness,  as  if  the 
upper  parts  could  slide,  like  the  joints  of  a  telescope,  one  into  the 
other.  This  could  easily  be  avoided,  and  probably  was  so  in  the  orig- 
inal design.  If  this  were  done,  we  have  here  the  principle  of  a  more 
pleasing  crowning  member  at  an  intersection  than  was  afterwards 
used  in  pointed  architecture,  and  capable  of  being  applied  to  domes 
of  any  extent. 


464 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Cloisters. 


Nearly  all,  and  certainly  all  the  more  important  churches  of  which 
we  have  been  speaking,  were  collegiate,  and  in  such  establishments 
the  cloister  forms  as  important  a  part  as  the  church  itself,  and  fre- 
quently the  more  beautiful  object  of  the  two.  In  our  own  cold  wet 
climate  the  cloisters  lose  much  of  their  appropriateness;  still  they 

always  were  used,  and 
always  with  a  pleasing 
effect ;  but  in  the  warm 
sunny  South  their 
charm  is  increased  ten- 
fold. The  artists  seem 
to  have  felt  this,  and  to 
have  devoted  a  large 
share  of  their  attention 
to  these  objects — cre- 
ating in  fact  anew  style 
of  architecture  for  this 
special  purpose. 

With  us  the  arcades 
of  a  cloister  are  gener- 
ally, if  not  always  a 
range  of  unglazed  win- 
dows, presenting  the 
same  features  as  those 
of  the  church,  which, 
though  beautiful  when 
filled  with  glass,  are 
somewhat  out  of  place 
without  that  indispen- 
sable adjunct.  In  the 
South  the  cloister  is 
never  a  window,  or  any- 
thing in  the  least  ap- 
proaching to  it  in  de- 
sign, but  a  range  of  small  and  elegant  ])illars,  sometimes  single,  some- 
times coupled,  generally  alternately  so,  and  supporting  arches  of  light 
and  elegant  design,  all  the  features  being  of  a  character  suited  to  the 
place  where  they  are  used,  and  to  that  only. 

The  cloister  at  Aries  has  long  occupied  the  attention  of  travellers 
and  artists,  and  perhaps  no  building,  or  part  of  one,  in  this  style  has 
been  so  often  drawn  or  so  much  admired.  Two  sides  of  it  are  of  the 
same  age  and  in  the  same  style  as  the  porch  (Woodcut  No.  314),  and 
equally  beautiful.    The  other  two  are  somewhat  later,  the  columns 


325.   Cloister  at  Foiitifroido,    (From  Taylor  and  Nodier.) 


Bk.  11.  Ch.  I. 


PROVENCE. 


465 


supporting  pointed  instead  of  round  arclies.  At  Aix  tliere  is  anothei% 
similar  to  that  at  Aries,  and  fi-agnionts  of  such  colonnades  are  found 
in  many  places.  That  of  Fontifroide  (Woodcut  No.  825)  is  one  of  the 
most  complete  and  perfect,  and  some  of  its  capitals  are  treated  with  a 
freedom  and  boldness,  and  at  the  same  time  with  an  elegance,  not 
often  rivalled  anywhere.  They  even  excel  —  for  the  purpose  at  least 
— •  the  German  capitals  of  the  same  age.  Those  at  Elne  are  more 
curious  than  those  of  any  other  cloister  in  France,  so  far  as  I  know 
—  some  of  them  showing  so  distinct  an  imitation  of  Egy])tian  work  as 
instantly  to  strike  any  one  at  all  familiar  witli  that  style.  Yet  they 
are  treated  with  a  lightness  and  freedom  so  wholly  mediaeval  as  to 
show  that  it  is  possible  to  copy  the  spirit  without  a  servile  adherence 
to  the  form.  Here,  as  in  all  the  examples,  every  capital  is  different 
— the  artists  revelling  in  freedom  from  restraint,  and  si)aring  neither 
time  nor  pains.  We  tind  in  these  examples  a  delicacy  of  handling 
and  refinement  of  feeling  far  more  characteristic  of  the  South  than  of 
the  ruder  North,  and  must  admit  that  their  architects  have  in  these 
cloisters  produced  objects  with  which  nothing  of  the  kind  we  have  in 
England  can  compete. 


VOL.  I.  — 30 


466 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


CHAPTER  II. 
AQUITANIA. 

CONTENTS. 

Churches  at  Perigeiix,  Souillac,  Angoiileme,  Alby,  Toulouse,  Conques, 
Tours.  —  Tombs. 

npHE  moment  you  pass  the  hills  forming  the  watershed  between  the 

rivers  flowing  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  those  which  de- 
bouch into  the  Bay  of  Biscay, 
you  become  aware  of  having 
left  the  style  we  have  just 
been  describing  to  enter  upon 
a  new  architectural  ])rovince. 
This  province  i)ossesses  two 
distinct  and  separate  styles, 
very  unlike  one  another  both 
in  character  and  detail.  The 
flrstof  these  is  a  round  arched 
tunnel-vaulted  Gothic  style, 
more  remarkable  for  the 
grandeur  of  its  conceptions 
than  for  the  success  with 
which  those  conceptions  are 
carried  out,  or  for  beauty 
of  detail.  The  second  is  a 
pointed-arched,  dome-roofed 
style  peculiar  to  the  province. 
The  existence  of  this  peculiar 
form  of  art  in  this  part  of 
France,  where  it  is  alone 
found,  is  quite  suflicient  to 
establish  the  pre-existence  in 
this  province  of  a  race  differ- 
ing from  that  inhabiting  the 
rest  of  the  country,  though 
it  is  not  at  present  easy  to 
determine  their  origin.  From  the  prevalence  of  Basque  terminations 
to  the  names  of  the  principal  towns  in  the  district,  and  from  the 


Plan  of  St.  Front,  Perigeux.  (From  F.  de 
Verneilh,  "Architecture  Byzantine  en 
France.")   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


JiK.  II.  Ch.  II. 


AQUITANIA. 


467 


fragments  of  that  people  still  existing  on  its  southern  frontier,  it 
would  appear  most  likely  that  they  were  the  influencing  race.  If  so, 
their  love  of  domes  would  be  almost  sufficient  to  establish  their  claim 
to  a  Turanian  origin,  for  though  domes  are  found,  no  doubt,  farther 
north,  it  is  in  a  modified  form.  These  phenomena  are,  however, 
sufficient  to  induce  us  to  include  for  the  present  in  the  province  of 
Aquitaine  the  doubtful  districts  of  the  Angoumois  and  Vendee,  though 
it  is  possible  that  these  provinces  may  eventually  turn  out  to  belong 
more  properly  to  Anjou. 

In  describing  them,  it  may  be  convenient  to  take  the  domical 
style  first,  as  its  history 
—  w:ith  one  or  two  excep- 
tional examples  in  the 
neighboring  provinces 
— begins  and  ends  here. 
It  will,  no  doubt,  be 
found  beyond  the  Pyre- 
nees so  soon  as  it  is  look- 
ed for;  but  in  a  country 
whose  architecture  has 
been  so  imperfectly  in- 
vestigated as  has  been 
the  case  in  Spain,  fifty 
different  styles  might 
exist  without  our  being 
cognizant  of  the  fact. 

The  principal  and 
best  preserved  example 
of  the  domical  style  of 
Aquitaine  is  the  church 
of  St.  Front,  Perigeux. 
As  will  be  seen  from  the 
woodcut  No.  328,  its 
plan  is  that  of  a  Greek 
cross,  182  ft.  each  way 
internally,  exclusive  of 
the  apse,  which  is  com- 
paratively modern,  and 
of  the  ante-church  and 

porch,  shaded  darker,  extending  150  ft.  farther  west,  which  are  the 
remains  of  an  older  church,  now  very  much  mutilated,  and  to  which 
the  domical  church  appears  to  have  been  added  in  the  11th  century. 

Both  in  plan  and  dimensions,  it  will  be  observed  that  this  church- 
bears  an  extraordinary  and  striking  resemblance  to  that  of  St.  Mark's, 
Venice,  illustrated  further  on.    The  latter  church,  however,  has  the 


320.   Part  of  St.  Front,  Perigeux.    (From  Venieilh.) 


468 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Part  II. 


angles  so  filled  up  as  to  reduce  it  to  the  more  usual  Greek  form  of  a 
square,  while  its  front  and  lateral  porches  are  additions  of  a  magnifi- 
cence to  which  the  church  of  St.  Front  can  lay  no  claim.  The  five 
cupolas  are  of  nearly  the  same  size,  and  are  similarly  placed,  in  both 
churches ;  and  the  general  similarity  of  arrangement  points  certainly 
to  an  identity  of  origin.  Both  too  would  seem  to  be  of  about  the 
same  age,  as  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  data  on  which  M.  Felix  de 
Verneilh  i  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  the  church  we  now  see  was 
erected  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  lltli  century.  There  is,  however, 
one  striking  difference  —  that  all  the  constructive  arches  in  St.  Front 
are  pointed,  while  those  of  St.  Mark's  are  round.  The  form  too  of  the 
cupolas  differs ;  and  in  St.  Front  the  piers  that  support  the  domes, 
having  been  found  too  weak,  have  been  cased  to  strengthen  them, 
which  gives  them  an  awkAvard  appearance,  from  which  St.  Mark's  is 
free.  The  difference  that  would  strike  a  traveller  most  is,  that  St. 
Mark's  retains  its  frescoes  and  decorations,  while  St.  Front,  like  almost 
all  the  churches  of  its  age,  presents  notliing  now  but  naked  bare 
walls,  though  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  it  was  originally  painted. 
This  indeed  was  the  legitimate  and  appropriate  mode  of  decoration  of 
all  the  churches  of  this  age,  till  it  was  in  a  great  measure  superseded 
by  the  invention  of  painted  glass. 

The  cupolas  are  at  the  ])resent  day  covered  with  a  wooden  roof ; 
but  their  original  api)earance  is  rejiresented  with  tolerable  correctness 
in  the  woodcut  No.  329,  which,  though  not  so  graceful  as  Eastern 
domes  usually  are,  are  still  a  far  more  picturesque  and  permanent 
finishing  for  a  roof  than  the  wooden  structures  of  the  more  Northern 
races.  Its  present  internal  appearance,  from  the  causes  above  men- 
tioned, is  singularly  bare  and  gloomy,  and  no  doubt  utterly  unworthy 
of  its  pristine  splendor. 

The  tower  stands  at  the  intersection  between  the  old  and  new 
churches,  and  its  lower  part  at  least  is  so  classical  in  its  details, 
that  it  more  probably  belongs  to  the  older  Latin  church  than  to 
the  domical  one.  Its  upper  part  seems  to  have  been  added,  and  its 
foundation  strengthened,  at  the  time  the  eastern  part  was  built. 

St.  Front  is  perliaps  the  only  existing  specimen  of  a  perfect  Greek 
cross  church  with  cupolas.  That  of  Souillac  is  a  good  example  of  a 
modification  of  a  form  nearly  shnilar,  except  that  the  cupola  forming 
the  eastern  branch  is  here  transferred  to  the  western,  making  it  thus  a 
Latin  instead  of  a  Greek  cross,  which  is  certainly  an  improvement,  as 
the  principal  space  and  magnificence  is  thus  concentrated  about  the 
high  altar,  which  is,  or  should  be,  the  culminating  point  of  effect. 
An  opinion  may  be  formed  of  its  internal  appearance,  and  indeed  of 
all  the  churches  of  this  style,  from  the  view  (Woodcut  No.  330), 


1  "Journal  Archeologique,"  de  M.  Didroii,  vol.  xi.  p.  88  et  seq. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IL 


AQUITANIA. 


469 


which  ill  reality  gives  it  mucli  more  the  appearance  of  tlie  interior 
of  a  mosque  in  Cairo  than  of  a  Cliristian  chnrch  of  tlie  Middle 
Ages.  The  building  is  not  large,  being  only  205  ft.  in  length 
internally,  including  the  porch,  and  110  across  the  transepts.  Its 
age  is  not  accurately  known,  nnti(piaries  having  insisted  on  placing 
it  in  the  12th  century  on  account  of  its  pointed  arches,  whereas 
the  probability  rather  seems  to  be  that  it  belongs  to  the  llth 
century. 


330.   Interior  of  Church  at  Souillac.   (From  Taylor  and  Nodier.) 

The  cathedral  at  Angouleme  (Woodcut  No.  331)  is  another  and 
still  more  extended  example  of  this  class,  having  three  domes  in  the 
nave;  the  first  with  the  facade  belonging  certainly  to  the  llth,  thts 
rest  to  the  12th  century.  The  form  of  these  domes,  with  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  side  walls,  will  be  understood  from  the  Woodcut  No.  332, 
The  method  adopted  in  this  church  may  be  considered  as  typical  of 


470 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


331.   Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Aiiffouleme. 
(From  Verneilh.)  Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


all  this  class ;  and,  except  in  the  mode  of  lighting  the  upper  part, 
is  by  no  means  inferior  in  architectural  effect  to  the  intersecting 
vaults  of  after  ages.  The  transepts  here  are  shortened  internally 
so  as  only  to  give  room  for  two  small  lateral  chapels ;  but  exter- 
nally they  are  made  very  imposing  by 
the  addition  of  two  towers,  one  at  the 
end  of  each.  This  was  another  means 
of  solving  a  difficulty  that  everywhere 
met  the  Mediaeval  architects,  of  giving 
the  greatest  dignity  to  the  most  holy 
place.  The  proper  and  obvious  mode 
of  doing  this  was  of  course  to  raise  a 
tower  or  dome  at  the  intersection  of 
the  nave  and  transe})ts,  but  the  diffi- 
culties of  construction  involved  in  tliis 
mode  of  procedure  were  such  that 
they  seldom  were  enabled  to  carry  it 
out.  This  can  only  be  said,  indeed,  to 
have  been  fairly  accomplished  in  Eng- 
land. At  Angouleme,  as  will  be  ob- 
served in  the  plan,  there  is  no  passage 
round  the  altar,  nor  is  the  choir  se])a- 
arated  from  the  body  of  the  church. 
In  Italy,  and,  indeed,  in  Germany,  this  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
considered  of  importance ;  but  in  France,  as  we  shall  presently  see, 

it  was  regarded  as  the 
■/yA^i^.  Tuost  indispensable  part 
of  the  arrangement  of 
the  church,  and  to  meet 
this  exigency  the  South- 
ern architects  were 
afterwards  obliged  to 
invent  a  method  of  isola- 
ting the  choir,  by  carry- 
ing a  lofty  stone  railing 
or  screen  round  it, 
wholly  independent  of 
any  of  the  constructive 
parts  of  the  church. 
This,  there  is  little  doubt 
was  a  mistake,  and  in  every  respect  a  less  beautiful  arrangement  than 
that  adopted  in  the  North ;  still  it  seems  to  have  been  the  only  means 
of  meeting  the  difficulty  in  the  absence  of  aisles,  and  in  some 
instances  the  richness  with  which  the  screen  was  ornamented,  and 
the  unbroken  succession  of  bassi-relievi  and  sculptural  ornaments, 


332.   One  Bay  of  Nave,  Angouleme. 

No  scale. 


(From  Verneilh.) 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  II. 


AQUITANIA. 


471 


Plan  of  Church  at  Mois- 
sac.  (From  Taylor  and 
Nodier.)  Scale  loO  ft. 
to  1  in. 


make  us  forget  that  it  is  only  a  piece  of  church  furniture,  and  not  an 
integral  part  of  the  design  of  the  building. 

One  of  the  earliest  examples  of  this  arrangement  which  has  been 
preserved  is  in  the  church  at  Moissac,  remark- 
able for  its  strange  mythical  sculpture  and 
rude  pointed  architecture,  both  belonging  to 
the  11th  century,  and  as  unlike  anything  to  be 
found  in  any  other  part  of  France  as  can  well 
be  conceived. 

At  a  later  age  we  find  in  the  cathedral  at 
Alby  the  same  system  carried  to  its  acme,  and 
still  adhered  to  in  all  essential  parts  in  spite 
of  the  influence  and  predominance  of  the  pure 
Gothic  styles,  which  had  then  so  generally 
superseded  it.  The  foundation  of  the  church 
was  laid  only  in  the  year  1282,  and  it  was  not 
so  far  completed  as  to  admit  of  its  dedication 
till  1476.  Its  choir  and  fresco  decorations 
were  added  by  the  celebrated  Louis  d'Amboise, 
who  completed  the  whole  in  1512.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  plan 
(Woodcut  No.  334),  the  church  is  one  immense  unbroken  vaulted 
hall,  55  ft.  in  width  by  262  in 
length ;  or  adding  the  chapels, 
the  internal  width  is  82  ft., 
and  the  total  length  upwards 
of  300  ft. 

As  will  be  observed,  the 
whole  of  the  buttresses  are  in- 
ternal, as  is  very  generally  the 
case  in  the  South  ;  and  where 
painted  glass  is  not  used,  and 
fresco  painting  is  the  principal 
mode  of  decoration,  ^ch  a  sys- 
tem has  many  advantages.  The 
outer  walls  are  scarcely  ever  seen 
and  by  this  arrangement  great 
external  extent  and  an  appear- 
ance of  gigantic  strength  is  im- 
parted, while  the  whole  space 
covered  by  the  building  is  avail- 
able for  internal  use.  But  where 
painted  glass  is  the  principal 
mode  of  decoration,  as  was  the 
case  to  the  north  of  the  Loire, 
such  a  system  was  evidently  inadmissible.    Then  the  walls  were  inter- 


334.   Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Alby.  (From 
Chapuy,  *'  Cathedrales  Fran9aises.") 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


472 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II 


nally  kept  as  flat  as  possible,  so  as  to  allow  the  windows  to  be  seen  in 
every  direction,  and  all  the  mechanical  expedients  were  placed  on  the 
outside.  Admirably  as  the  Northern  architects 
managed  all  this,  I  cannot  help  thinking,  if  we 
leave  the  painted  glass  out  of  the  question,  that 
the  Southern  architects  had  hit  on  the  more  artistic 
arrangement  of  tlie  two ;  and  where,  as  at  Alby, 
the  lower  parts  of  the  recesses  between  the  inter- 
nal buttresses  were  occupied  by  deep  windowless 
cliapels,  and  the  upper  lights  were  almost  wholly 
concealed,  the  result  was  an  extraordinary  appear- 
ance of  repose  and  mysterious  gloom.  This  char- 
acter, added  to  its  simplicity  and  the  vastness  of 
its  vault,  render  Alby  one  of  the  most  impressive 
cliurches  in  France,  and  a  most  instructive  study 
to  the  2)liiloso})hical  inquirer  into  the  principles  of 
effect  as  being  a  Gothic  cliurch  built  on  principles 
not  only  dissimilar  from,  but  almost  diametrically 
opposed  to  nliose  which  we  have  been  usually 
accustomed  to,  consider  as  indispensable  and  as 
inherent  requisites  of  the  style. 

The  church  of  the  Cordeliers  at  Toulouse  is 
another  remarkable  example  of  this  class,  and  exhib- 
iting its  peculiarities  in  even  a  clearer  light  than  that  at  Alby.  Exter- 
nally its  dimensions  in  i)lan  are  273  ft.  by  87.    Those  of  King's  College 


335.  Plan  of  Church 
of  Cordeliers,  at 
Toulouse.  Scale 
100  ft.  to  1  ill. 


336.    Section  of  Church  of  Cordeliers  at  Toulouse.      337.   View  of  Angle  of  Church  of  Cor- 
50  ft.  to  1  in.   (From  King's  "  Study  Book.")  deliers  at  Toulouse.   (From  King.) 


Chapel,  Cambridge,  which  is  the  building  we  possess  most  resembling 
it  in  plan,  are  310  ft.  by  84.    But  the  nave  of  the  chapel  is  only 


Bk  II.  Ch.  II. 


AQUITANIA. 


473 


41  ft.  6  in.  clear  between  the  piers,  while  in  the  church  of  Cordeliers  it 
is  53  ft.,  and  except  the  thickness  of  the  outer  wall  —  about  4  ft.  —  the 
whole  of  the  floor-space  of  the  span  is  utilized  in  the  interior.  In  so 
far  as  internal  effect  is  concerned,  this  is  no  doubt  judicious;  but,  as 
may  be  seen  from  the  view  (Woodcut  No.  337),  the  absence  of  any 
delineation  of  the  line  of  buttresses  externally  produces  a  flatness  and 
want  of  accentuation  in  the  lower  part  that  is  highly  objectionable. 
As  will  be  observed  from  the  section,  the  whole  of  the  width  of  the 
buttresses  is  included  in  the  interior  on  the  one  side.  On  the  other 
it  is  excluded  above  the  roof  of  the  aisle,  but  a  gallery  (Woodcuts 
Nos.  336  and  337)  joins  the  buttress  at  the  top,  giving  the  effect  of  a 
cornice  and  a  gallery  above.  The  church  is  of  brick,  and  all  tJie 
peculiarities  of  the  style  are  here  found  exaggerated ;  but  there  are 
few  churches  on  the  continent  which  contain  so  many  valuable  sug- 
gestions for  a  Protestant  place  of  worship,  and  no  features  that  could 
not  easily  be  improved  by  judicious  handling.  It  was  built  in  a 
country  where  Protestant  feeling  existed  before  the  Reformation,  and 
where  (Consequently  architects  studied  more  how  they  could  accom- 
modate congregations  than  provide  show-places  for  priests. 

Besides  those  which  are  built  wholly  according  to  this  plan,  there 
are  a  great  number  of  churches  in  this  province  which  show  the 
influence  of  its  design  in  more  respects  than  one,  though,  having 
been  rebuilt  in  a  subsequent  age,  many  of  the  original  features  are 
necessarily  lost.  The  cathedral  at  Bordeaux  is  a  remarkable  example 
of  this,  its  western  portion  being  a  vast  nave  without  aisles,  60  ft. 
wide  internally,  and  nearly  200  ft.  in  length.  Its  foundations  show 
that,  like  that  at  Angouleme,  it  was  originally  roofed  by  three  great 
domes ;  but  being  rebuilt  in  the  13th  century,  it  is  now  covered  by 
an  intersecting  vault  of  that  age,  with  two  stories  of  windows,  and 
an  immense  array  of  flying  buttresses  to  support  its  thrust,  all  which 
might  have  been  dispensed  with  had  the  architects  retained  the  origi- 
nal, simpler,  and  more  beautiful  form  of  roof.  The  cathedral  of  Tou- 
louse shows  the  same  peculiarity  of  a  wide,  aisleless  nave,  leading  to 
a  choir  of  the  usual  construction  adopted  in  this  country  in  the  13th 
and  14th  centuries  ;  and  many  other  examples  might  be  quoted  where 
the  influence  of  the  earlier  style  peers  through  the  Northern  Gothic 
which  succeeded  and  nearly  obliterated  it. 


Chevet  Churches. 

The  Gothic  churches  of  this  province  are  neither  so  numerous  nor 
so  remarkable  as  those  of  the  domical  class  we  have  just  been 
describing  ;  still  there  are  several  examples,  far  too  important  to  be 
passed  over,  and  which  will  serve  besides  in  enabling  us  to  inti'oduce 
the  new  form  of  church  building  which  became  prevalent  in  France, 


474 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  and  which  cliaracterized  the  French 
style  in  contradistinction  to  that  of  other  countries. 

The  typical  example  of  the  style  in  this  province  is  the  great 

church  of  St.  Saturnin, 
or  St.  Sernin,  at  Tou- 
louse, dedicated  in  the 
year  1096.  The  church 
is  375  ft.  in  length  and 
217  in  width  across  the 
transept  externally.  It 
is  five-aisled,  the  nave 
being  95  ft.  in  the 
interior,  though  the 
central  aisle  is  only  25 
ft.  wide  and  is  further 
contracted  at  the  inter- 
section by  masses  i)f 
masonry  subsequently 
added  to  support  the 
central  tower.  It  has  five 
apsidal  and  four  tran- 
septal  chapels,  and  may 
therefore  be  considered 
as  possessing  a  complete 
chevet;  but  the  church 
at  Conques  (Woodcut 
No.  340),  in  the  same 
style  and  of  almost 
similar  date,  illustrates 
even  more  ])erfectly  the  arrangement  of  which  we  are  now  speaking. 
The  nave  of  St.  Seniin,  as  will  be  observed  (Woodcut  No.  339),  has 

double  side-aisles,  above 
the  inner  one  of  which 
runs  a  grand  gallery.  The 
roof  of  this  gallery  —  in 
section  the  quadrant  of 
a  circle  —  forms  an  abut- 
ment to  the  roof  of  the 
nave,  which  is  a  bold 
tunnel-vault  ornamented 
by  transverse  ribs  only. 
So  far  the  constructive  ar- 
rangements are  the  same  as 
in  the  transitional  church 
Passing  from  the  nave  to  the 


338.  Church  of  St.  Sernin,  Toulouse.  (From  the  "Ar- 
chives des  Alonunients  Historiques.")  Scale  100 
ft.  to  1  in. 


339.   Section  of  the  Church  of  St.  Sernin,  Toulouse. 
"Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


of  Fontifroide,  quoted  above  (p.  464). 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  II. 


AQUITANIA. 


475 


340. 
Conques. 


Plan  of  Church  at 
(From  Taylor  and 
Nodier.) 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


Styles  we  have  been 


*clioir,  both  at  Toulouse  and  at  Conques,  we  come  upon 
extended  and  complicated  arrangement  than 
we  have  hitherto  met  with.   It  will  be  recol- 
lected that  the  Romanesque  apse  was  a  simple 
large  niche,  or  semi-dome  ;  so  we  shall  find 
it  in  the  Lombard  and  German  styles  when 
they  come  to  be  described,  and  generally  even 
in   the   neighboring   Provenyal  style,  and 
always  —  when  unaltered  —  in  the  domical 
style  last  described.    In  the  present  instance 
it  will  be  seen  that  a  semi-circular  range  of 
columns   is   substituted   for    the   wall  of 
the  apse,  an  aisle  bent  round  them,  and 
beyond  the  aisle  there  are  always  three,  five, 
or  even  seven  chapels  opening  into  it,  which 
give  it  a  complexity  very  different  from  the 
simple  apse  of  the  Roman  basilicas  and  the  other 
describing,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  perspective  and  a  play 
of  light  and  shade  which  are 
unrivalled  in  any  similar  in- 
vention of  the  Middle  Ages. 
The  apse^  properly  speaking, 
is  a  solid  semi-cylinder,  sur- 
mounted by  a  semi-dome,  but 
always  solid  below,  though 
generally  broken  by  windows 
above.  The  chevet  on  the  con- 
trary is  an  apse,  always  en- 
closed by  an  open  screen  of 
columns  on  the  ground-floor, 
and  opening  into  an  aisle, 
which  again  always  opens 
into  three  or  more  apsidal 
chapels.     This  arrangement 
is  so  peculiarly  French  that 
it  may  properly  be  cliarac- 
terized  by  the  above  French 
word,  a  name  once  commonly 
applied  to  it,  though  latterly 
it  has  given  way  to  the  more 
classical,  but  certainly  less  34i. 
suitable,  term  of  apse.  Its 
origin,  too,  is  worth  inquiring  into  an  ^ 
explanation. 


a  more 


Plan  of  St.  Martin  at  Tours 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


eems  to  be  capable  of  easy 


476 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  1L 


The  uses  which  the  various  nations  of  Christendom  made  of  the 
circular  form  of  building  left  them  by  the  Romans  have  been  more 
than  once  adverted  to  in  this  work.  The  Italians  used  it  almost 
always  standing  alone  as  a  tomb-house  or  as  a  baptistery;  the 
Germans  converted  it  into  a  western  apse,  while  sometimes,  as  at 
Bonn  and  elsewhere,  they  timidly  added  a  porch  or  nave  to  it ; 
but  the  far  more  fi-equent  ])ractice  with  the  Germans,  and  also  in 
England,  was  to  build  first  the  circular  church  for  its  own  sake,  as 
in  Italy :  then  the  clergy  for  their  own  accommodation  added  a  choir, 
that  they  might  pray  apart  from  the  people. 

The  French  took  a  different  course  from  all  these.  They  built 
circular  churches  like  other  nations,  appar- 
ently, in  early  times  at  least,  Avhich  were 
intended  to  stand  alone ;  but  in  no  in- 
stance do  they  appear  to  have  applied 
them  as  naves,  nor  to  have  added  choirs  to 
them.  On  the  contrary,  the  clergy  always 
retained  tlie  circular  building  as  the  sacred 
(lepositoiy  of  the  tomb  or  relic,  the  Holy 
of  Holies,  and  added  a  straight-lined  nave 
for  the  people.  Of  this  class  was  evidently 
the  church  which  Perpetuus  built  in  the 
fifth  century  over  the  grave  of  St.  Martin 
at  Tours.  There  the  shrine  was  sur- 
rounded by  seventy-nine  pillars  arranged 
in  a  circular  form  :  the  nave  was  lined 
by  forty-one  —  twenty  on  each  side,  with 
one  in  the  centre  of  the  west  end  as  in 
Germany.  When  the  church  required  re- 
building in  the  11th  century  (1014?),  the 
architect  was  evidently  hampered  by  find- 
ing himself  obliged  to  follow  the  outline  of 
the  old  basilica  of  Perpetuus,  and  having 
to  labor  on  the  same  foundation  so  as  not 
to  disturb  either  the  shrine  of  the  saint  or 
any  other  place  which  had  become  sacred  in  this,  which  was  the  most 
celebrated  and  revered  of  the  churches  of  Gaul.  All  this  is  made 
clear  in  the  plan  of  the  new  church  (Woodcut  No.  341).  The 
arrangement  of  the  circular  part  and  the  nave  exactly  accord  with 
the  description  of  the  old  church,  only  that  the  latter  has  been 
considerably  enlarged  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  day.  But  the 
juxtaposition  of  the  two  shows  how  nearly  the  chevet  arrangement 
was  completed  at  that  time. 

Another  church,  that  of  Charroux  on  the  Loire,  looks  as  though  it 
had  been  built  in  direct  imitation  of  the  church  of  Perpetuus.  The 


342.    Cliurcli  of  C  harroux 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  iu. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  II. 


AQUITANIA. 


477 


round  church,  here  retains  its  pre-eminence  over  the  nave,  as  was  the 
case  in  the  older  examples,  and  thus  forms  an  intermediate  link 
between  the  old  church  of  St.  Martin,  which 
we  know  only  by  description,  and  the  more 
modern  one,  of  whicli  a  plan  is  given  (Woodcut 
No.  341). 

St.  Benigne,  Dijon,  is  another  transitional 
example  which  may  serve  to  render  this  arrange- 
ment still  more  clear.  It  was  erected  in  the 
first  year  of  the  11th  century,  and  was  pulled 
down  only  at  the  Revolution  ;  but  before  that 
catastrophe  it  had  been  carefully  measured  and 
described  in  Dom  Plancher's  "  History  of  Bur- 
gundy." As  seen  by  him,  the  foundations  only 
of  the  nave  were  of  the  original  structure,  for 
in  the  year  1271  one  of  its  towers  fell,  and  so 
damaged  it  that  the  whole  of  that  part  of  the 
church  was  then  rebuilt  in  the  perfect  pointed 
style  of  the  day.  Without  entering  too  much 
into  detail,  it  will  suffice  to  state  that  the  part 
shaded  lightly  in  the  woodcut  (No.  343)  is  taken 
literally  from  Dom  Plancher's  plan,  regarding 
which  there  can  be  no  doubt,  and  the  contem- 
porary descriptions  are  so  full  that  very  little 
uncertainty  can  exist  regarding  the  dimensions 
and  general  disposition  of  the  nave. 

The  bodies  of  the  confessors  SS.  Urban  and 
Gregory  were,  it  appears,  originally  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  name  most  properly  applied 
to  this  circular  building;  they  were  afterwards  transferred  to  the 
crypt  below  the  high  altar,  in  the  rectangular  part  of  the  church. 
Above  the  lower  story,  which  retained  its  name  as  a  baptistery  and 
burial-place,  was  the  upper  church,  which  was  dedicated  to  the  Virgin 
Mary ;  above  that  was  the  church  of  the  Holy  Trinity ;  and  on  the 
top  of  the  round  toAvers,  on  one  side  the  altar  of  St.  Michael,  on  the 
other  probably  that  of  Gabriel. 

The  little  church  of  Neuvy  St.  Sepulchre,  near  Bourges,  which 
was  erected  between  the  years  1042  and  1046,  presents  precisely  the 
same  arrangements  as  the  church  of  Charroux,  though  on  a  smaller 
scale,  there  being  only  one  range  of  ten  pillars  in  the  centre.  The 
ancient  nave  having  been  destroyed,  was  replaced  by  a  more  ex- 
tended one  in  the  12th  century,  but  the  old  arrangement  can  easily 
be  traced. 

In  all  these  old  churches  —  and  they  seem  to  have  been  very  common 
in  France  before  the  12th  century  —  tlie  circular  part  was  the  most 


343.  Plan  of  St,  Benigne, 
Dijon.  (From  Dom  Plan- 
cher's "  Histoire  de  Bour- 
gogne.")  Scale  100  ft.  to 
1  in. 


FRENCH  ARCHITECT UKE.  Part  H. 

important,  but  they  have  most  of  them  been  rebuilt ;  and  where  this 
lias  been  the  case,  even  when  the  outline  of  the  circular  form  was 
retained,  the  lines  of  the  nave  were  made  tangents  of  the  circle,  and 
thus  became  j^arts  of  one  design.    All  these  arrangements  were  perfect 


344.    St.  Seniiii,  Toulouse.    (From  Tfiylor  and  Nodier.) 

before  the  church  of  Coiiques  (Woodcut  No.  340)  was  erected.  There 
the  architect,  not  being  hampered  by  any  previous  building,  was 
allowed  free  scope  for  his  design.  The  plan  so  produced  was  never 
lost  sight  of  by  the  French,  but  was  developed  into  a  vast  variety  of 
beautiful  forms,  which  we  shall  shortly  have  to  examine. 

When  once  this  transformation  of  the  round  church  into  the  chevet 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  II, 


AQUITANIA. 


479 


termination  of  a  basilica  was  effected,  the  French  adliered  to  it  with 
singular  constancy.  I  am  not  aware  of  their  ever  having  built  a 
circular  church  afterwards  which  was  intended  to  stand  alone ;  and 
there  are  very  few  instances  of  basilicas  of  any  importance  without 
this  form  of  apse.  Some,  it  is  true,  have  been  rebuilt  on  old  founda- 
tions, with  square  eastern  ends,  but  this  is  rare  and  exceptional,  the 
chevet  being  the  true  and  typical  termination. 

The  church  at  Conques  and  that  at  Toulouse  both  show  it  fully 
and  beautifully  developed,  though  externally  the  chapels  hardly  fit 
pleasingly  into  the  general  design,  and  look  more  as  though  their 
addition  were  an  afterthought.  This,  however,  was  soon  afterwards 
remedied,  and  the  transformation  made  complete. 

The  solidity  with  which  these  churches  were  built,  and  the  general 
narrowness  of  their  proportions  as  compared  Avith  the  domical  churches 
of  the  same  time  and  district,  enabled  the  architects  occasionally  to 
attempt  some  splendid  erection  on  the  intersection  of  the  nave  and 
transepts,  which  is  the  spot  where  height  should  always  be  aimed 
at.  The  dome  at  Cruas  in  the  Proven9al  district  has  already  been 
described  (Woodcut  No.  324).  The  church  at  Conques  has  one  as 
important,  though  dissimilar ;  but  the  finest  is  that  of  St.  Sernin  at 
Toulouse  (Woodcut  No.  344),  which  rivals  the  designs  of  our  spires  at 
Salisbury,  Norwich,  and  elsewhere,  but  its  height  being  only  230  ft. 
from  the  ground,  it  cannot  be  compared  with  them  in  that  respect. 
The  3  lower  stories  only  are  of  the  age  of  the  church  ;  the  2  upper 
were  added  long  afterwards,  but  were  adapted  with  remarkably  good 
taste.  Though  differing  in  design  and  detail,  their  general  form  and 
outline  is  such  as  to  accord  most  happily  with  the  older  structure  on 
which  they  are  placed ;  there  is  nevertheless  a  sameness  of  design  in 
placing  so  many  similar  stories  one  over  the  other,  merely  diminishing 
in  size,  which  is  not  altogether  pleasing.  The  general  effect,  however, 
is  good,  and  for  a  central  object  it  is,  if  not  the  finest,  certainly  one 
of  the  very  best  which  France  possesses. 

As  in  all  French  styles,  the  western  fa9ades  of  the  Southern 
cluirches  are  the  parts  on  which  the  architects  lavished  their  orna- 
ments with  the  most  unsparing  hand.  Generally  they  are  flat,  and 
most  of  them  now  terminate  squarely,  with  a  flat  line  of  cornice  of 
slight  projection.  Beneath  this  there  is  generally  a  range  of  arches 
filled  with  sculpture  or  intended  to  be  so — the  central  one,  and  that 
only,  being  used  as  a  window.  Beneath  tliis  is  the  great  portal,  on 
which  more  ornament  is  bestowed  than  on  any  other  feature  of  the 
building.  Some  of  these  gateways  in  this  province,  as  in  Provence, 
are  wondrous  examples  of  patient  labor,  as  well  as  models  of  beauty. 
They  possess  more  than  the  richness  of  our  own  contemporary 
Norman  portals,  with  a  degree  of  refinement  and  delicacy  which 
our  forefathers  did  not  attain  till  a  much  later  age.    Some  of  these 


480 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


345.    Clmrch  at  Aillas. 


346.   Cliurcli  at  Loupiac.    (From  Leo  Drouyn, 
"Architecture  au  Moyen-Age.") 


church-portals  m  Aquitaine 
are  comparatively  simple, 
but  even  they  make  up  for 
the  want  of  sculpture  by  the 
propriety  of  theii-  design  and 
the  elegance  of  their  composi- 
tion. 

The  church  at  Aillas  pre- 
sents a  fair  specimen,  on  a 
small  scale,  of  the  class  of 
design  which  is  peculiar  to 
the  fayades  of  Aquitania, 
though  it  is  doubtful  if  the 
original  termination  of  the 
gable  has  not  been  lost  and 
replaced  by  the  one  shown 
in  the  drawing.  The  fayade 
of  Angouleme  is 
designed  on  the 
same  plan,  though 
it  is  much  richer. 
Those  of  Civray,. 
Parthcnay,  and  of 
many  others,  show 
the  same  character- 
istics. They  appear 
to  have  been  de- 
signed not  to  ex- 
press the  form  and 
construction  of  the 
interior,  but,  like 
an  Egyptian  pro- 
pylon,  as  a  vehicle 
for  a  most  exten- 
sive series  of  sculp- 
tures exhibiting  the 
whole  Bible  his- 
tory. Sometimes, 
however,  the  design 
is  more  strictly 
?  architectural,  as  in 
the  facade  of  the 
church  at  Loupiac, 
where  sculpture  is 
made    wholly  sub- 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  II. 


AQUITAXIA. 


48J 


347.   St.  Eloi,  Espaliou.    (From  Taylor  and  Nodier.) 

ordinate,  and  the  archi- 
tectural members  are  so 
i^rouped  as  to  form  a  pleas- 
ing and  effective  design, 
not  unlike  some  instances 
found  farther  north,  and 
in  our  own  country. 

The  varieties  of  these, 
however,  are  so  endless 
that  it  would  be  in  vain 
to  attempt  either  to  ])ar- 
ticularize  or  to  describe 
them.  Many  of  these  ar- 
rangements are  unusual, 
though  almost  always 
pleasing,  as  in  the  church 
at  Espalion  (\yoodcut  No. 
347),  where  the  belfry  is 
erected  as  a  single  wall 
Over  the  chancel-arch,  and 
groups  well  with  the  apsi- 
dal  termination,  though, 
as  in  almost  every  instance 
in  this  country,  the  west- 
ern fa9ade  is  wanting  in 
sufficient  feature  and  char- 
acter to  balance  it. 
VOL.  I. --31 


348.   Tomb  at  St.  Tierre,  Toulouse.    (From  Taylor 
and  Nodier.) 


482 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  II. 


Generally  speaking,  the  cloisters  and  other  ecclesiastical  adjuncts 
are  so  similar  to  those  at  Provence,  as  given  in  the  last  chapter, 
that  a  separate  description  of  them  is  not  needed  here.  They  are 
all  of  the  columnar  style,  supporting  small  arches  on  elegant  capitals 
of  the  most  varied  and  elaborate  designs,  evincing  that  delicate  feeling 
so  prevalent  in  the  south,  which  prevented  any  approach  to  that 
barbarism  so  common  farther  north  whenever  the  architects  attempted 
anything  beyond  the  common  range  of  decoration. 

The  same  feeling  pervades  the  tombs,  monuments,  and  domestic 
architecture  of  this  part  of  France,  making  them  all  far  more  worthy 
of  study  in  every  minute  detail  than  has  yet  been  attempted.  The 
woodcut  (No.  348)  represents  one  small  example  of  a  tomb  built  into 
a  wall  behind  the  church  of  St.  Pierre  at  Toulouse.  It  is  one  of 
those  graceful  little  bits  of  architecture  which  meet  one  at  every  turn 
in  the  pleasant  South,  where  the  people  have  an  innate  feeling  for  art 
Avhich  displays  itself  in  the  smallest  as  well  as  in  the  most  important 
works. 


Be.  II.  Ch.  III. 


ANJOU. 


483 


CHAPTER  III. 
A  N  J  O  IT. 

CONTENTS. 

Cathedral  of  Angers  —  Church  of  Fontevraiilt  —  Poitiers —  Spires. 

rpHE  architectural  province  of  Aiijoii  cannot,  perhaps,  be  so  distinctly 
JL  defined  as  the  two  ah-eady  described.  On  the  north,  indeed,  it  is 
separated  by  the  clearest  line  both  from  Normandy  and  from  tlie 
Frankish  province.  But  in  the  south,  as  before  remarked,  it  is  not 
easy  to  say,  in  the  present  state  of  our  information,  what  works 
belong  to  Aquitaine  and  what  to  Anjou.  Not  that  there  is  any  want 
of  sufficient  marks  to  distinguish  between  the  styles  themselves,  but 
a  large  portion  of  examples  appear  to  belong  to  a  sort  of  debatable 
ground  between  the  two.  This,  however,  is  true  only  of  the  buildings 
on  the  borders  of  the  province.  The  two  capitals  of  Angers  and 
Poitiers  are  full  of  examples  peculiar  to  them  alone,  and  as  a  rule  the 
same  remark  applies  to  all  the  principal  churches  of  the  province. 

The  age  of  the  greatest  splendor  of  this  province  is  from  the 
accession  of  Foulques  Nerra  in  the  year  989  to  the  death  of  Henry  H. 
of  England,  1190.  During  these  two  centuries  its  prosperity  and  inde- 
pendent power  rose  to  a  height  which  it  subsequently  neither  main- 
tained nor  ever  regained.  Prior  to  this  period  the  buildings  found 
scattered  here  and  there  are  few  and  insignificant,  but  during  its 
continuance  every  town  was  enriched  by  some  noble  effort  of  the 
piety  and  architectural  taste  peculiar  to  the  age.  After  its  conclusion 
the  completion  of  works  previously  commenced  was  all  that  was 
attempted.  The  rising  power  of  the  northern  provinces,  and  of  the 
English,  seems  to  have  given  a  check  to  the  prosperity  of  Anjou, 
which  it  never  thoroughly  recovered  ;  for  when  it  did  to  a  certain 
extent  again  become  prosperous  and  wealthy,  it  was  under  the 
influence  and  dominion  of  the  great  central  Frankish  power  which 
ultimately  absorbed  into  itself  all  the  separate  nationalities  of  France, 
and  obliterated  those  provincial  distinctions  which  are  so  strikingly 
prominent  in  the  earlier  part  of  her  history. 

The  plan  of  St.  Maurice  (Woodcut  No.  349),  the  cathedral  of  Angers, 
may  be  considered  as  a  typical  example  of  the  Angiovine  style,  and  will 
serve  to  explain  in  what  it  differs  from  the  northern  and  in  wliat  it  re- 
sembles the  southern  styles.  On  comparing  it  with  the  plan  of  Souillac, 


484 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  11. 


and  more  especially  with  that  of  the  cathedral  at  Angouleine,  it  will  be 
seen  how  nearly  it  resembles  them — the  great  difference  being  that,  in- 
stead of  cupolas  over  each  square 
compartment,  it  has  the  intersecting 
vai4t  of  the  northern  styles.  Its 
buttresses  too  are  external,  but  less 
in  ])rojection  than  might  be  gene- 
rally considered  necessary  to  sup- 
l^ort  a  vault  52  ft.  in  span.  They 
moreover  show  a  tendency  towards 
a  northei-n  style  of  construction ; 
but  the  absence  of  free-standing 
pillars  or  of  aisles,  and  the  general 
arrangement  of  the  whole  building 
are  rather  Southern  peculiarities. 
Externally  the  facade  has  been  suc- 
cessively piled  up  at  various  times 
from  the  I'ith  century,  when  the 
body  of  the  church  was  commenced 
and  nearly  finished,  to  the  16th, 
when  it  was  completed  in  the  style 
of  the  Renaissance. 

Another  church  in  the  same  city, 
of  equal  interest,  though  not  so  large 
or  important,  is  that  of  the  Trinite. 
It  consists  of  one  nave  without 
transepts,  52  ft.  wide  measuring 
into  the  recesses,  though  it  is  only 
32  ft.  wide  between  the  piers.  It  is 
roofed  with  an  intersecting  vault  in 
eight  compartments,  of  somewhat 
northern  pattern,  but  with  a  strong 
tendency  towards  the  domical  forms 
of  the  Southern  style.  It  possesses, 
moreover,  a  peculiarity  rather  fre- 
quently attempted,  viz.,  that  of  try- 
ing to  obtain  a  greater  appearance 
of  length  by  lowering  the  vaults 
from  the  entrance  towards  the  altar. 
Thus  at  the  entrance  the  building 
is  80  ft.  in  height,  but  it  gradually 
sinks  to  65  at  the  eastern  end.  This 
contrivance  is  a  mere  trick,  and,  like 
all  such  in  architecture,  is  a  failure, 
rich  and  good  throughout,  and 


-349.   Cathedral  at  Angers.    (From  Faultrier, 
"Anjou  et  ses  Monuments.")  Scale 
100  ft.  tolin. 


350.    St.  Trinite,  Angers.    (From  Faultrier.) 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


The  details  of  this  church  are 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  III. 


ANJOU. 


485 


View  of  the  Interior  of  Loches. 
sketch  by  the  author.) 


(From 


altogetlier  the  effect  of  the  7  recesses  on  each  side  is  ])leasing  and 
satisfactory.  Indeed  it  may  be  considered  as  the  typical  and  best  ex- 
ample of  that  chiss  of  churches, 
of  which  a  later  specimen  was 
the  cathedral  at  Alby,  described 
in  the  last  chaj  )ter,  and  whicli  are 
so  beautiful  as  to  go  far  to  shake 
our  absolute  faith  in  the  dogma 
that  aisles  are  indispensably  nec- 
essary to  the  proper  effect  of  a 
Gothic  church. 

Even  more  interesting  than 
either  of  these  in  an  archaeo- 
logical ])oint  of  view,  is  the  little 
castle  chapel  at  Loches,  com- 
menced by  Geoffrey  Grise  Go- 
nelle.  Count  of  Anjou,  in  the 
year  962,  and  continued  by  his 
son,  Foulques  Nerra,to  whom  the  351. 
nave  must  be  ascribed  ;  while  the 
western  tower  is  probably  the  only  part  now  remaining  of  the  older 
church.  The  eastern  portion  was  rebuilt  in  tlie  r2th  century  by 
Thomas  Pactius,  the  prior,  and  completed 
in  1180 — the  latter  part  being  in  the  well- 
known  Norman  style  of  that  age.  An  in- 
teresting point  in  this  church  is  that  the 
Norman  round-arch  style  is  built  over  and 
upon  the  pointed  arches  of  the  nave,which 
are  at  least  a  century  older,  having  been 
erected  between  the  years  987  and  1040. 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  view  given  of  this 
chapel  that  the  pointed  style  here  used  has 
nothing  in  common  with  the  pointed  archi- 
tecture of  the  North  of  France,  but  is  that 
of  the  South,  such  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
churches  of  Perigeux  and  Souillac.  It 
is  used  here,  as  there,  to  support  domes. 
These,  however,  in  this  instance,  instead 
of  being  circular,are  octagonal, and  rise  ex- 
ternally in  octagonal  straight-lined  cones 
of  stone  work,  giving  a  very  peculiar  but 
interesting  and  elegant  outline  to  the 
building.  They  also  point  out  a  method  by 
which  roofs  at  least  as  high  as  those  which  afterwards  prevailed  could 
have  been  obtained  in  stone  if  this  mode  of  vaulting  had  been  persevered 


352.     Plan  of  Church  at  Foute- 
vrault.    (From  Venieilh.) 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


486 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II 


353. 


View  of  Chevet  at  Fontevrault. 


(From  Faultrier.) 


in.  The  Church  of  St.  Sergius  at  Angers  has  pointed  arches  certainly 
of  an  early  date,  but  whether  so  old  as  this  is  not  quite  certain. 

It  has  already  been  suggested  that  all  circular  churches  were 
originally  sepulchral  or  intended  to  be  so.  There  can  also  be  little 
doubt  but  that  the  halves  of  round  churches,  which,  as  explained  above, 

were  adopted  as  the 
chevet  termination  of 
French  basilicas,  were 
also  intended  either 
to  symbolize  a  tomb- 
house  or  relic  shrine,, 
or  actually  to  serve 
as  the  sepulchres  of 
distinguished  person- 
ages. This  certainly 
appears  to  have  been 
the  case  in  the  earlier 
French  examples,  and 
among  these  one  of 
the  most  splendid  in  this  province,  indeed  almost  the  only  one  of  any 
real  importance,  is  that  of  Fontevrault,  where  repose,  or  rather  reposed, 
the  remains  of  two  of  our  Plantagenet  kings,  Henry  II.  and  Richard  T  , 
with  others  of  their  family.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  woodcut  (No. 
353),  it  is  a  mausoleum  worthy  of  them,  and  a  i)leasing  example  of  the 

style  of  the  age,  and  though  cer 
tainly  not  so  peculiarly  Angiovino 
as  the  apsidal  churches  of  Angers 
and  Poitiers,  has  still  distinguishing 
characteristics  which  are  not  found 
in  any  other  province  of  France. 
The  nave  is  surmounted  by  four 
domes,  as  is  usual  in  this  and  the 
more  southern  provinces,  and  it  is 
only  in  having  an  aisle  trending 
round  the  apse  tliat  it  differs  from 
the  ordinary  churches.  It  may  be 
seen  from  the  plan  (Woodcut  No. 
i^F„Mevfar.1F;L^^^enS.^™   352)  how  awkwardly  tliis  is  done, 

and  how  its  ill  narrow  dimensions^ 
agree  with  the  spaciousness  of  the  nave. 

Woodcut  No.  354  demonstrates  how  similar  the  domes  of  its  nave 
are  to  those  of  Angouleme,  Souillac,  and  those  of  the  South  —  this 
domical  arrangement  being  in  fact  as  characteristic  of  this  age  and 
locality  as  the  intersecting  vault  afterwards  became  of  the  Northern 
provinces. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  III. 


ANJOU. 


481 


If  the  apse  or  clievet  of  this  church  is  not  so  strictly  Angiovinc  as 
other  examples,  the  fagade  of  the  church  of  Notre  Dame  de  Poitiers 
(shown  in  Woodcut  No.  355)  is  not  open  to  the  same  remark,  being 
strictly  local  in  all  its  parts.  Originally  the  one  window  it  possessed 
was  circular ;  but  in  the  15th  century,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  mouldings 


355.   Facade  of  Notre  Dame  at  Poitiers.    (From  Cliapuy,  "  Moyen-Age  Monumental.") 


then  introduced,  it  was  cut  down  to  its  present  form,  no  doubt  to  make 
more  room  for  painted  glass,  which  at  that  age  had  superseded  all  other 
modes  of  decoration  :  whereas  in  the  12th  century,  to  which  the  church; 
belongs,  external  sculpture  and  internal  mural  j^aintings  were  thc' 
prevailing  modes  of  architectural  expression.  It  will  be  observed  from 
the  above  woodcut  that  sculpture  is  used  in  a  profusion  of  which  no- 
example  belonging  to  a  later  age  exists  ;  and  though  we  cannot  help 
admiring  the  larger  proportions  and  broader  masses  of  subsequent 


488 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  11. 


builders,  still  there  is  a  richness  and  a  graphic  power  in  the  exuberant 
sculpture  of  the  earlier  fa9ades  which  we  miss  in  after  ages,  and  of 
which  no  mere  masonic  excellence  can  ever  supply  the  place. 

This,  though  not  the  largest,  is  probably  the  best  and  richest 
church  of  its  class  in  this  province.  The  border  churches  of  Parthe- 
nay,  Civray,  and  Ruffec,  all  show  traces  of  the  same  style- and  forms 
all  more  or  less  richly  carried  out ;  but  none  have  the  characteristic 
corner  towers,  nor  do  they  retain  their  pedimented  gable  so  perfect  as 
Notre  Dame  at  Poitiers. 

Besides  this  one  there  are  four  churches  in  Poitiers,  all  which  were 
certainly  erected  in  the  11  th  century,  and  the  greater  part  of  them 

still  retain  unaltered  the  fea- 
tures of  that  age.  The  oldest, 
St.  Hilaire  (a.d.  1049),  is  re- 
markable for  an  irregularity 
of  plan  sufficient  to  puzzle  all 
the  antiquaries  of  the  land, 
and  which  is  only  to  be  ac- 

£i^n  ftiiiiiiiiii   counted  for  on  the  supposition 

^      ^P^^^B  having  been  built  on 

W     the  foundation  of  some  earlier 
@)       @      ^^^^sJwi     c^i^^^'ch,  which  it  has  replaced. 
H  P^^H        Moutierneuf    (1066)  pos- 

sesses in  its  nave  a  circular- 
headed  tunnel-vault,  orna- 
mented with  transverse  ribs 
only,  but  resting  on  arches 
which  cut  slightly  into  it.  It 
has  no  string-course  or  plain 
wall,  as  is  usual  in  the  South, 
and  in  this  shows  a  tendency 
towards  intersecting  vault- 
ing, indicative  of  an  approach 
to  the  Northern  style. 

The  most  remarkable  part 
of  St.  Porchaire  and  St.  Rada- 
gonde  are  their  western  towers,  which  are  fine  specimens  of  their 
class,  especially  that  of  the  latter,  which  changes  pleasingly  into  an 
octagon  before  terminating  in  a  short  spire.  Altogether  this  church 
shows  that  elegance  of  feeling  the  want  of  which  is  a  chief  defect  of 
the  contemporary  Norman  style. 

The  cathedral  of  Poitiers  was  founded  in  the  year  1161.  Its  eastern 
end  belongs  to  a  transitional  period,  while  its  western  front  was  not 
completed  till  the  pointed  Gothic  style  had  reached  its  utmost  per- 
fection, 200  years  later.    Its  plan,  however,  probably  belongs  to  the 


jm.  Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Poitiers.  (From  Coulter 
"  Histoire  de  la  Catliedrale  de  Poitiers.") 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  hi. 


ANJOU. 


489 


earlier  period,  and  presents  so  strong  a  contrast  to  the  Nortliern 
churches  of  the  same  date  that  it  may  be  quoted  liere  as  belonging  to 
the  style  which  we  are  describing.  The  east  end  is  square  externally, 
but  internally  it  contains  8  shallow  niches  like  those  on  each  side  of 
St.  Trinite  at  Angers.  Its  transepts  are  mere  chapels  ;  but  its  most 
remarkable  feature  is  the  convergence  of  its  sides  towards  the  east ;  and 
as  its  vault  sinks  also  towards  that  end,  a  false  perspective  is  attained 
Avhich  certainly  at  first  sight  gives  the  church  an  ai)pearance  of  greater 
length  than  it  really  possesses.  The  3  aisles,  too,  being  of  the  same 
height,  add  to  the  effect  of  space;  so  that,  taken  as  a  whole,  this  church 
may  be  quoted  as  the  best  example  known  of  the  system  of  attaining 
a  certain  effect  by  these  means,  and  is  well  worthy  of  study  on  this 
account.  It,  however,  I  think,  admits  of  no  doubt  that  the  Northern 
architects  were  right  in  rejecting  all  these  devices,  and  in  basing  their 
efforts  on  better  understood  and  more  honest  principles. 

It  is  in  this  province  that,  proceeding  from  the  South,  spires  are  first 
found  in  common  use.  The  characteristic  of  the  South  is  the  square 
flat-roofed  tower  or  octagonal  dome. 
In  Anjou,  towers  standing  by  them- 
selves, and  crowned  by  well-propor- 
tioned spires,  seem  early  to  have 
been  introduced,  and  to  have  been 
considered  almost  essential  parts  of 
church  architecture.  The  represen- 
tation (Woodcut  No.  357)  of  that 
attached  to  the  interesting  church 
of  Cunault  on  the  Loire  is  of  the 
most  common  type.  There  is  an- 
other at  Chemille,  almost  exactly 
like  it,  and  a  third  on  the  road  be- 
tween Tours  and  Loches,  besides 
many  others  which  but  slightly  dif- 
fer from  these  in  detail.  They  all 
want  the  aspiring  lightness  after- 
wards attained  in  Gothic  spires  ; 
but  their  design  and  ornaments  are 
good,  and  their  outlines  w^ell  suited 
to  the  massive  edifices  to  which 
they  are  attached. 

Most  of  the   conventual  '  build-       357.   Spire  at  Cmmult.   (From  Faultrier. , 

ings  attached  to  the  churches  in 

this  province  have  disappeared,  either  during  the  struggle  with  the 
Huguenots,  or  in  the  later  and  more  disastrous  troubles  of  the  Revolu- 
tion^ so  that  there  is  scarcely  a  cloister  or  other  similar  edifice  to  be 
found  in  the  province.    One  or  two  fragments  however  still  exist,  such 


490 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II, 


as  the  Tour  d'Evrault.^  This  is  a  conventual  kitchen,  not  unlike  that 
at  Glastonbury,  but  of  an  earlier  age,  and  so  far  different  from  any- 
thing else  of  the  kind  that  it  was  long  mistaken  for  a  building  of  a 
very  different  class. 

Another  fragment,  though  probably  not  ecclesiastical,  is  the  screen 
of  arches  recently  discovered  in  the  hotel  of  the  Prefecture  at  Angel's. 
As  a  specimen  of  elaborate  exuberance  in  barbarous  ornament,  it  is 
unrivalled  even  in  France,  but  it  is  much  more  like  the  work  of  the 
Normans  than  anytliing  else  found  in  the  neighborhood.  Owing  to 
its  having  been  so  long  built  up,  it  still  retains  traces  of  the  coloring 
with  which  all  the  internal  sculjjtures  of  this  age  were  adorned. 

The  deficiency  in  ecclesiastical  buildings  in  tliis  province  is  made 
up  in  a  great  measure  by  the  extent  and  preservation  of  its  Feudal 
remains,  few  of  the  provinces  of  France  having  so  many  and  such 
extensive  fortified  castles  remaining.  Those  of  Angers  and  Loches 
are  two  of  the  finest  in  France,  and  tliere  are  many  others  scarcely  less 
magnificent.  Few  of  them,  however,  have  features  strictly  architec- 
tural; and  tliougli  the  artist  and  the  poet  may  luxuriate  on  their 
crumbling  time-stained  towers  and  picturesque  decay,  they  hardly 
belong  to  such  a  work  as  this,  nor  afford  materials  which  would 
advance  our  knowledge  of  architecture  as  a  fine  art. 


^  This  buildiiiii  is  well  illustrated  in  Turner's    Domestic  Architecture.' 


hK.  it.  Ch.  IV. 


AUVERGNE. 


491 


CHAPTER  IV. 
AUVERGNE. 

CONTENTS. 

Church  at  Issoire  —  Puy  —  Fortified  Church  at  Royat. 

I'^HE  last  of  the  Southern  provinces  wliich  requires  to  be  distinguished 
is  that  of  Auvergne,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  as  well  as  one  of  the 
most  complete  of  the  round  Gothic  styles  of  France.  The  country  in 
which  it  is  found  is  as  distinctly  marked  out  as  the  style,  for  no 
iiaturalist  can  cross  the  frontier  of  the  territory  without  at  once  being 
struck  by  the  strange  character  of  its  scenery.  It  is  a  purely  volcanic 
country,  to  which  the  recently  extinguished  craters  impart  a  character 
not  found  in  any  other  province  of  France.  Whether  its  inhabitants 
are  of  a  different  race  from  their  neighbors  has  not  yet  been  investi- 
gated. At  all  events,  they  retain  their  original  characteristics  less 
changed  than  any  other  people  inhabiting  the  South  of  France.  Their 
style  of  architecture  is  distinct,  and  early  reached 
a  degree  of  perfection  which  no  other  in  France 
had  then  attained;  it  has,  moreover,  a  greater  re- 
semblance than  we  have  hitherto  found  in  France 
to  the  Lombard  and  Rhenish  styles  of  architec- 
ture. The  other  styles  of  Southern  France  — 
whatever  their  beauties  may  be  —  certainly  never 
reached  that  degree  of  independent  completeness 
which  enables  us  to  class  that  of  AuverQ^ne  anions^ 
tlie  perfected  styles  of  Europe. 

In  the  department  of  Puy  de  Dome  there  are 
at  least  four  churches  of  the  typical  form  of  this 
style,  which  have  been  edited  by  M.  Mallay  — 
those  of  Issoire,  of  N.  D.  du  Port  at  Clermont,  of 
Orcival,  and  of  St.  Nectaire  —  which  only  differ 
from  one  another  in  size,  and  in  the  arrangement 
of  their  apsidal  chapels.  That  of  Issoire  has  a 
square  central  chapel  inserted,  which  is  wanting  at  Clermont  and 
Orcival,  while  St.  Nectaire  has  only  three  instead  of  four  apsidal 
chapels. 

The  largest  of  these  is  that  of  Issoire,  of  which  a  plan  is  here  given, 
from  which  it  will  be  seen  that,  though  small,  it  is  beautifully  arranged. 


358.     Cliurch  at  Issoire. 
(From  Mallay.)  Scale 
100  ft.  to  1  in. 


492 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paht  II. 


They  all  possess  central  towers,  raised  on  a  mass  of  masonry  ex- 
tending to  the  wliole  width  of  the  church,  which  gives  them  a  breadtli 

of  base  found  in  no  other 
style.  The  want  of  this  is 
painfully  felt  in  most  of  our 
own  central  spires,  all  of 
which  need  something  more  to 
stand  upon  than  the  central 
roof,  out  of  which  they  seem 
to  grow ;  but  I  do  not  know 
that  any  attempt  was  ever 
made  to  remedy  the  difficulty 
anywhere  but  in  Auvergne. 
All  these  churches  were  in- 
tended to  liave  western  tow- 
ers, the  massive  foundations, 
for  which  are  found  in  every  example,  though  there  does  not 
appear  to  be  a  single  instance  in  which  these  exist  in  a  complete 
state. 

The  side-aisles  are  always  covered  by  intersecting  vaults,  but  that 
of  the  nave  is  invariably  a  simple  tunnel-vault,  as  in  the  Southern 
styles,  ornamented  by  occasional  transverse  ribs,  and  which  in  the 
church  at  Issoire  is  slightly  pointed. 

To  support  this  great  vault,  a  semi-vault  is  carried  over  the  side. 


3G0.    Section  of  Church  at  Issoire,  looking  East. 
(From  Mallay.)   Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IV. 


AUVERGNE. 


4113 


aisles  —  ns  shown  in  the  section  —  whicli  forms  a  massive  and  perfect 
abutment  to  the  thrust  of  the  great  arch,  besides,  as  before  pointed  out, 
rendering  the  vault  independent  of  a  wooden  covering,  which,  though 
in  some  instances  supplied,  was  certainly  not  originally  intended. 
The  defect  of  this  arrangement  is  of  course  evident,  as  compared  with 
the  northern  styles,  inasmuch  as  a  clerestory  was  impossible,  and  the 
only  effective  light  that  could  be  admitted  was  through  the  side-aisles. 
These  churches,  however,  have  an  approach  to  a  clerestory  not  found 
in  that  at  Fontifroide,  before  quoted,  in  having  a  triforium  or  range 
of  arches  oi^ening  into  the  gallery,  which  gave  a  lightness  of  character 
to  the  superstructure,  and  admitted  to  a  certain  extent  a  borrowed 
light. 


361.   Elevation  of  Chevet,  Notre  Dame  du  Port  Clerinoiit.    (^Froiii  Chapuy.)   No  scale. 


Externally,  the  projection  of  the  buttresses  is  slight,  and  they  are 
connected  by  arches,  struck  from  the  same  centres  as  the  windows, 
above  which  three  small  arches  relieve  and  ornament  the  upper  part  of 
the  nave.  The  central  arch  of  these  is  pierced  with  the  small  window 
which  lights  the  upper  gallery.  Above  this  is  a  cornice  of  more 
elegance  and  of  greater  projection  than  is  usually  found  in  churches  of 
this  age. 

The  most  beautiful  and  most  admired  feature  of  the  style  is  the 
arrangement  of  the  chapels  of  the  chevet  externally. 

In  the  view  given  above  of  St.  Saturnin,  Toulouse  (Woodcut  No. 
344),  as  in  almost  all  the  churches  of  that  style,  it  will  be  observed 
iiow  awkwardly  these  chapels  are  stuck  on,  ns  if  they  were  after- 
thoughts, and  altogether  foreign  to  the  nuiin  lines  of  the  building. 


494 


FRENCH  AECHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Here,  however,  all  the  parts  are  pleasingly  subordinated  one  to  the 
other,  and  the  whole  are  so  grouped  as  to  form  a  design  equal,  if  not 
superior,  to  the  galleried  apses  of  the  German  and  Lombard  churches. 
The  place  of  these  galleries  is  here  supplied  by  a  mosaic  decoration 
formed  with  the  different  colored  lavas  of  the  extinct  volcanoes  of 
the  district,  which  gives  not  only  a  pleasing  local  character  to  the 
style,  but  is  interesting  as  the  only  specimen  of  external  polychro- 
matic decoration  now  to  be  found  so  far  to  the  north.  In  effect,  this 
is  perhaps  hardly  equal  to  the  open  galleries  of  the  German  churches  ; 
but  the  expense  must  have  been  considerably  less  and  the  variety  of 
tlie  outline  of  the  chevet  arrangement,  as  compared  with  the  simple 
apse,  gives  to  these  churches  some  advantages  over  the  contemporary 
buildings  on  the  Rhine.  Indeed,  as  far  as  external  decoration  is  con- 
cerned, it  may  be  questioned  whether  the  French  ever  surpassed  these  ; 


362.   Plan  of  Chevet,  Notre  Dame  dn  Port  Clermont.    (From  Cliapuy.)   No  scale. 


and  had  they  been  carried  out  on  tlie  same  scale  as  those  of  Amiens 
and  Chnrtres,  they  would  ]:)robably  be  thought  more  beautiful.  It  is 
true  the  flying  buttresses  and  j)innacles  of  the  pointed  style  enabled 
tlie  architects  to  introduce  far  larger  windows  and  gorgeous  decora- 
tions of  painted  glass,  and  so  to  improve  the  internal  effect  of  their 
churches  to  an  immense  extent ;  but  this  was  done  at  the  sacrifice  of 
much  external  simplicity  of  outline  and  propriety  of  effect,  which  ^ve 
cannot  but  lament  could  not  be  reconciled  with  the  requisite  internal 
arrangements. 

The  age  of  these  churches  is  not  very  well  ascertained.  M.  Mallay 
is  inclined  to  place  them  principally  in  the  10th  century,  though  the 
pointed  form  of  the  vault  at  Issoire  induces  him  to  bring  that  down  to 
the  12th  century ;  but  we  have  seen  enough  to  know  that  such  a 
])ointed  form,  on  the  contrary,  is  more  likely  to  be  ancient  than  the 
rounded  one,  which  requires  better  construction,  although  in  that  age 
it  was  thought  more  beautiful.  My  own  impression  is  that  they 
belong  generally  to  the  11th  century,  though  some  were  no  doubt 


^K.  11.  Ch,  IV. 


ATTVEBGNE. 


495 


commenced  in  the  10th,  and  probably  continued  to  the  12th  ;  but  their 
uniformity  of  style  is  such,  that  not  more  than  one  century  could  have 
elapsed  between  the  first  and  the  last.  Only  one  circular  church,  so 
far  as  I  know,  is  found  in  the  district.  It  is  a  sepulchral  chapel  in  the 
cemetery  at  Chambon,  small  in  size,  being  only  26  ft.  wide  over  all, 
but  elegant  in  its  proportions,  and  showing  the  same  style  of  decora- 
tion as  the  apses  of  the  larger  churches. 

Among  the  exceptional  churches  of  this  district,  one  of  the  most 
interesting  is  that  of  Royat,  illustrated  in  Woodcut  No.  363,  being  a 


3G;j.    Fortitied  Cliurcli  at  Koyat.    (From  Gailhabaud.) 


specimen  of  a  fortified  church,  such  as  are  sometimes,  though  not  fre- 
quently, found  in  France.  That  at  Maguelonne,  quoted  above,  (p.  460), 
is  another,  and  there  are  several  others  in  the  south  of  France;  but 
non3  probably  either  so  complete  or  showing  so  many  castellated 
fealdres  as  this.  In  its  ruined  state  we  lose  the  western,  or  possibly 
the  central  tower,  which  might  have  somewhat  restored  its  ecclesias- 
tical character ;  but  even  as  it  is,  it  is  a  singularly  picturesque  and 
expressive  building,  though  it  speaks  more  of  war  and  bloodshed  than 
of  peace  and  good  will  to  all  men. 


496 


FRENCH  AKCHITECTURE. 


Part  II, 


CHAPTER  y. 
BURGUNDY. 

CONTENTS. 

Church  at  Ainay  —  Cathedral  at  Puy  —  Abbeys  of  Tournus  and  Cluny  —  Cathe- 
•dral  of  Autun  —  Church  of  St.  Menoux. 

rpHE  province  of  Burgundy  was  architecturally  one  of  the  most 
X  important  in  France  during  the  Middle  Ages,  but  one  the  limits 
of  which  it  is  difficult  to  define.  This  is  partly  owing  to  the  extreme 
fluctuation  of  the  political  power  of  the  kingdom  or  dukedom,  or 
whatever  it  might  be,  but  more  to  the  presence  of  two  distinct  peoples 
within  its  limits,  the  one  or  other  of  which  gained  the  ascendancy  at 
various  intervals,  and  according  as  each  was  in  power  the  architec- 
tural boundaries  of  the  province  appear  to  have  changed.  In  Pro- 
vence the  Roman  or  Classical  element  remained  superior  down  to  the 
time  when  Paris  influenced  that  province  as  it  did  all  the  rest  of 
France ;  but  this  event  did  not  take  place  till  very  nearly  the  end  of 
the  Gothic  period.  In  Burgundy,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Classical 
and  Barbarian  streams  flowed  side  by  side  —  at  times  hardly  mingling 
their  waters  at  all,  but  at  others  so  amalgamated  as  to  be  undistin- 
guishable,  while  again  in  remote  corners  either  style  is  occasionally 
found  to  start  up  in  almost  perfect  purity. 

It  would  add  very  much  to  the  clearness  of  what  follows  if  we 
could  tell  who  the  Burgundians  were  and  whence  they  came  :  neither  of 
which  questions  appears  as  yet  to  have  received  a  satisfactory  solution. 
That  they  differed  in  many  respects  from  the  other  Barbarians  who 
assisted  in  overthrowing  the  Roman  Empire  will  probably  be  admitted ; 
but  in  the  present  state  of  ethnographic  knowledge  it  may  seem  too 
daring  to  assert  that  they  had  Turanian  blood  in  their  veins,  and  were 
Buddhists  in  religion,  or  belonged  to  some  cognate  faith,  before  they 
settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Saone  or  the  Rhone.  Yet  if  this  were  not 
so,  it  appears  impossible  to  account  for  the  essentially  monastic  foi-m 
which  characterized  this  province  during  the  whole  Gothic  period. 

From  the  time  at  least  wheir  St.  Gall  and  Columban  settled  them- 
selves at  Luxueil  till  late  in  the  Middle  Ages,  this  country  was  the 
first  and  principal  seat  of  those  great  monastic  establishments  which 
had  so  overwhelming  an  influence  on  the  faith  and  forms  of  those 
times.  We  must  go  either  to  India  in  the  flourishing  period  of 
Buddhism,  or  to  Thibet  in  the  present  day,  to  find  anything  analogous 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  V. 


BURGUNDY. 


497 


to  the  monastic  establishments  of  the  11th  centnry  in  this  district. 
All  these  monasteries  have  now  passed  away,  and  few  liave  left  even 
any  remains  to  attest  their  former  greatness  and  magnificence.  The 
great  basilica  of  Cluny,  the  noblest  church  of  the  11th  century,  has 
been  wliolly  removed  witliin  tlie  present  centnry.  Clairvaux  was  first 
rebuilt  in  the  style  of  the  Renaissance,  but  has  been  finally  swept  away 
within  the  last  few  years.  Citeaux  })erished  earlier,  and  little  now 
remains  to  attest  its  former  greatness.  Luxueil  is  an  obscure  village. 
The  destruction  of  the  church  of  St.  Benigne,  at  Dijon,  has  already 
been  referred  to,  and  it  would  be  easy  to  swell  the  catalogue  of  similar 
consequences  of  the  great  Revolution. 

Tournus  still  remains,  and  at  Vezelay  fragments  exist.  Charlier, 
Avallon,  Autun,  Langres,  and  Besan9on,  still  possess  in  their  cathe- 
drals and  churches  some  noble  remnants  of  Burgundian  architecture. 
Besides  these,  there  are  numer- 
ous parish  churches  and  smaller 
edifices  which  would  easily  ena- 
ble us  to  make  up  a  history  of  tjie 
style,  were  they  carefully  exam- 
ined and  drawn.  The  architec- 
ture of  Burgundy,  however,  has 
not  yet  been  examined  with  the 
attention  it  deserves,  and  it 
would  require  long  and  patient 
personal  investigation  to  eluci- 
date its  peculiarities. 

The  church  of  Ainay  at  Lyons 
is  an  early  and  beautiful  speci- 
men of  the  style  when  used  with- 
out any  classical  influence  ;  yet 
four  Roman  pillars  support  the 
intersection  of  the  nave  and 
transept.  Its  western  front 
(Woodcut  No.  364)  was  erected 
probably  in  the  10th  century,  and 
is  decorated  with  colors  and  pat- 
terns which  are  characteristic  of 
the  style.  Nor  does  there  seem 
any  reason  for  doubting  but  that 
the  pointed  arch  of  the  entrance 
doorway  belongs  to  the  period  to  which  the  church  is  assigned. 

The  cathedral  at  Puy  en  Velay  is  another  example  of  the  same 
style.  1    The  east  end  and  the  two  first  bays  of  the  nave  belong  to  the 

'  See  a  paper  on  this  church  by  Mr.  Street,  read  to  the  Institute  of  British 
Arcliitects. 

VOL.  I.  —32 


364.   Fa9ade  of  Church  of  Ainay.    (From  a 
drawing  by  J.  B.  Waring.)   No  scale. 


498 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  it. 


10th  century.  The  church  progressed  westwa»'i  at  the  rate  of  two 
bays  in  a  century  till  the  last  two  were  completed,  with  the  won- 
derful cavernous  porch  under  them,  about  the  year  1180.  The  whole 
length  of  the  church  is  215  ft.,  and  its  width  across  the  nave  is  a  little 
over  80.  Externally  its  most  remarkable  feature  is  the  fa9ade  of  the 
south  transept,  which  is  perhaps  the  richest  and  most  elaborate  speci- 
men of  the  Ainay  style  of  decoration  existing.  On  the  north  side  is  the 


365.   Cloister  of  CatViedral  of  Puy  en  Velay.   (From  .  .  *^  * 

a  Photograph.)  tliis  cloistcr  they  support 

the  arches,  and  are  veritable  parts  of  the  construction.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  find  any  apter  illustration  of  Pugin's  famous  antithesis 
than  these  examples  of  Roman  and  Burgundian  architecture  —  the  one 
is  constructed  ornament,  the  other  ornamented  and  ornamental  con- 
struction—  and  notwithstanding  its  rudeness,  the  Burgundian  exam- 
ple is  far  more  pleasing  tlian  the  Roman,  and,  if  used  with  classical 
details,  this  arrangement  might  now  be  introduced  into  any  Italian 
design  with  the  most  satisfactory  effect. 

The  church  of  St.  Benigne  at  Dijon,  mentioned  above,  was  one  of 
the  oldest  in  Burgundy,  and  was  probably  an  excellent  type  of  the 
style  of  that  country.  But  its  total  destruction,  and  the  insufficiency 
of  the  i^lates  published  by  Dom  Plancher^  preclude  anything  like  a 


1  "  Histoire  Generale  de  Bourgogne,"  4  vols,  fol.,  Dijon,  1739;  p.  81. 


cloister,  which  is  a  sin- 
gularly elegant  specimen 
of  the  style,  but  very 
classical  in  detail.  The 
pillars  are  almost  Corin- 
thian in  outline  (Wood- 
cut No.  365),  but  the 
blunder  the  Romans  made 
when  using-  pillars  with 
arches  has  in  this  case 
been  avoided.  If  refer- 
ence is  made  to  Woodcuts 
210  and  212,  or  to  any 
others  representing  the 
classical  form,  the  differ- 
ence will  be  at  once  per- 
ceived. In  both  instances 
the  pillars  were  used 
merely  as  ornaments,  but 
with  the  Romans  they 
were  nothing  but  useless 
additions,  without  even 
the  pretence  of  utility.  In 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  V. 


BURGUNDY. 


499 


satisfactory  study  of  it.  The  abbey  churcli  of  Tourniis  (Woodcut  No. 
366)  is  perhaps  nearly  as  old,  its  antiquity  being  manifested  by  the 
rudeness  both  of  its  design  and  execution.  Tlie  nave  is  separated  from 
the  aisles  by  plain  cylindrical  columns  without  bases,  the  capitals  of 
which  are  united  by  circular  arches  at  the  height  of  the  vaults  of  the 
aisle.  From  the  capitals  rise  dwarf  columns  supporting  arches  tlirown 
across  the  nave.  From  one  of  these  arches  to  the  other  is  thrown  a 
transverse  tunnel-vault,  whicli  thus  runs  the  cross  w\ay  of  the  build- 
ing ;  being,  in  fact,  a  series  of  arches  like  those  of  a  bridge  extending 
the  whole  len^^tli  of  the  nave.  This  is,  I  believe,  the  only  known  in- 
stance of  this  arrangement,  and  is  interesting  as  contrasting  with  tlie 
longitudinal  tunnel-vaults  so  common  both  in  this  province  and  in 
the  South. 

It  is  a  curious  instance  of  an  ex])eriment,  the  object  of  which 
was  the  getting  over  those  difficulties  afterwards  removed  by  the 
invention  of  the  inter- 
secting vault.  In  the 
mean  time  this  Tour- 
nus  roof  offered  some 
ad  vantages  well  worthy 
of  consideration.  The 
first  of  these  Avas  that 
the  thrust  of  the  vault 
was  wholly  longitudi- 
nal, so  that  only  the 
supporting  arches  of 
the  transverse  vaults 
required  to  be  abutted. 
These  being  low  and  in 
a  well-defined  direction 
were  easily  provided 
for.  Another  advantage 
was,  that  it  allowed  of  a 
large  and  well-defined 
clerestory,  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  impos- 
sible with  the  longitu- 
dinal vaults.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  artistic 
awkwardness  of  the 
plan  was  a  fatal  objec- 
tion, for,  instead  of  con- 
ducting the  eye  pleas- 
ingly along  the  vault,  it  offered  nothing  but  a  succession  of  interrup' 
tions  to  the  perspective. 


366. 


View  of  Fiiterior  of  Abbey  at  Tournus. 
(From  Taylor  and  Nodier.) 


500 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


In  the  nave  of  this  church  all  the  arches  are  circular ;  in  the  choir, 

which  dates  early  in 
the  11th  century,  if 
not  before,ancl  M^hicli 
is  perhaps  older  than 
the  nave,  the  great 
transverse  arches  are 
slightly  pointed,  and 
support  at  the  in- 
tersection a  dome, 
which  forms  the 
most  beautifiil  fea- 
ture in  the  church. 

The  pride  of 
Burgundy  was  the 
great  abbey  churcli 
of  Cluny,  whicli, 
with  its  narthex  or 
ante-churcl,,  meas- 
ured 580  ft.  in 
length,  or  consider- 
ably more  than  any 
other  church  erected 
in  P^'rance  in  any 
age.  Its  nave  was 
throughout  37  ft. 
6  in.  in  width,  and 
it  had  double  side- 
aisles,  making  tlie 
total  internal  width 
120  ft.,  while  the 
whole  area  covered 
by  it  was  ui)\vards 
of  70,000  ft.  Bnt 
colossal  as  these  di^ 
mensions  are,  they 
convey  no  adequate 
idea  of  its  magni- 
ficence. The  style 
throughout  was  sol- 
id and  grand,  and 
it  must  have  pos- 
sessed a  degree  of 
massive  magnifi- 
cence which  we  so 


367.  Plan  of  Abbey  Churcli  at  Cluny,   (From  Lorain's  "  His- 
toire  de  I'Abbaye.")   Scale  200  ft.  to  1  in.) 


bk.  II.  ch.  y. 


BURGUNDY. 


501 


frequently  miss  among  the  more  elegant  beauties  of  subsequent 
erections. 

The  semi-dome  of  the  chevet  was  supported  by  eight  noble  columns, 
through  which  was  seen  in  perspective  a  circle  of  five  apsidal  chapels. 
Externally  the  roof  was  crowned  by  five  larger  and  three  smaller 
towers  ;  and  the  whole  was  carried  up  solidly  to  a  height  unrivalled 
among  the  buildings  of  this  age.  Wliat  added  to  its  interest  was, 
that  the  church  at  least  was  at  the  time  of  its  destruction  an  almost 
unaltered  s])ecinien  of  the  architecture  of  the  11th  and  Titli  centuries, 
having  been  commenced  in  1089  by  St.  Hugues,  and  dedicated  in 
1121.    The  narthex  or  ante-chapel,  though  somewhat  more  modern, 


3G8.   View  in  Aisle  at  Autun.    (From  369.   View  in  Nave  at  Autiin. 

Chapuy,  "  Cathedrales  Fran9aises.")  (From  Chapuy.) 


was  probably  comjdeted  within  the  limits  of  the  12th  century.  These 
dates  have  been  disputed,  but  principally  on  account  of  the  theories 
prevalent  regarding  the  origin  of  the  pointed  arch.  This  feature  was 
nsed  here,  as  it  is  found  elsewhere,  in  all  the  ])ier  arches  separating 
the  nave  from  the  aisles  —  the  vaulting  of  the  aisles  having  probably 
been  also  pointed,  while  the  great  vault  of  the  church  is  a  plain 
tunnel-vault  with  transverse  ribs  on  its  surface.  That  of  the  narthex 
is  a  transverse  vault  of  a  later  datej  but  of  singularly  clumsy  con- 
struction. Whether  it  had  a  clerestory  or  not,  is  not  quite  clear  from 
such  drawings  as  we  possess ;  but  if  not,  it  undoubtedly  had'  a  double 
gallery  throughout,  the  upper  range  of  which,  if  not  both,  served  to 
admit  light. 

We  should  hardly  be  able  to  make  out,  from  the  representations 


502 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


we  possess,  what  the  exact  ordinance  of  this  church  was  were  it  not  that 
some  other  contemporary  churches  in  the  same  style  still  remain  to 
us.  Among  these,  one  of  the  most  perfect  is  the  cathedral  at  Autun, 
formerly  the  chapel  of  the  dukes  of  Burgundy,  commenced  about  the 
year  1060,  and  consecrated  1132.  The  arrangement  of  its  nave  is 
extremely  similar  to  that  of  Cluny,  with  these  differences,  that  at 
Autun  the  great  vault  is  slightly  pointed,  and  attached  to  the  piers 
of  the  nave  are  pilasters  instead  of  three-quarter  columns.  In  the 
ante-church,  however,  at  Cluny,  the  same  pilastered  arrangement 
occurs.  This  is  the  characteristic  of  the  true  Burgundian  style,  and 
so  peculiar  is  it,  and  so  classical,  that  some  antiquaries  have  not  hesi- 
tated to  consider  it  as  a  bad  imitation  of  Gothic  forms  belonging  to 
the  15th  or  16th  centuries.  In  fact  the  fluted  columns  or  pilasters, 
their  Corinthian  capitals,  and  the  whole  arrangements  are  so  emi- 
nently classical  as  almost  to  justify  the  doubt  in  those  who  are  not 
familiar  with  the  history  of  the  southern  styles  of  France.  There 
can,  however,  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  age  of  these  examples,  and  as 
little  as  to  the  models  from  which  they  are  copied,  for  in  this  very 
city  of  Autun  we  have  two  Roman  gateways  (one  of  which  is  repre- 
sented in  Woodcut  No.  217),  and  there  are  others  at  Langres  and 
elsewhere,  Avhich,  exce])t  in  the  jWnted  arch  and  other  constructive 
peculiarities,  are  almost  identical  with  the  style  of  these  churches. 
Whether  from  want  of  familiarity  with  this  style,  or  from  some  other 
cause,  it  certainly  is  not  pleasing  to  our  eyes,  and  we  therefore  turn 
with  pleasure  to  the  ruder  but  more  purpose-like  inventions  of  tlie 
purely  Gothic  architects  of  the  same  age. 

Among  these  the  province  affords  no  more  beautiful  specimen  than 
the  nave  of  the  church  of  Vezelny,  which  possesses  all  the  originality 

of  the  Norman  com- 
bined Avith  the  ele- 
gance of  the  Southern 
styles.  In  this  speci- 
men the  ])ier  arches- 
are  w^ide  and  low,  there 
is  no  triforium  of  any 
sort,  and  the  windows 
are  small.  The  vault 
is  formed  by  immense 
transverse  ribs,  cross- 
ing from  pier  to  pier, 
and  forming  square 
compartments,  each 
divided  by  plain  inter- 
secting arches  without 
This  certainly  is  an  im- 


Bk.  II.  Cm.  V. 


BURGUNDY. 


503 


provement  on  tlie  vault  at  Cluiiy,  though  it  cuts  tlie  roof  too  uuich 
up  into  divisions.  Perhaps  its  greatest  defect  is  its  want  of  lieight, 
being  only  60  ft.  in  the  centre,  while  the  total  width  is  8G  ft.  from 
wall  to  wall.  But  the  details  of  the  whole  are  so  elegant  as  in  a  great 
measure  to  redeem  these  faults. 

The  narthex,  or  ante  church,  resembles  that  at  Cluny  both  in  its 
importance  and  in  being  somewhat  more  modern  than  the  church 
itself.  At  Vezelay  (Woodcut  No.  370)  it  dates  from  the  beginning  of 
the  12tli  century,  while  the  nave  seems  wholly  to  belong  to  the  11th. 
It  is  an  extremely  instructive  example  of  the  progress  of  vaulting. 


-.c  has  the  bold  transverse  ribs,  and  the  ])lain  intersecting  vaults,  wliich 
are  here,  in  accordance  Avith  the  Southern  practice,  abutted  by  the 
arches  of  the  galleries.  In  the  walls  of  the  galleries  are  windows 
large  enough  to  admit  a  considerable  amount  of  light.  But  the  vaults 
are  here  fast  losing  their  original  purpose.  The  arched  construction 
supports  the  solid  external  roof  over  the  side-aisles,  but  the  central 
vault  is  covered  by  a  w^ooden  roof,  so  that  the  stone  vault  has  become 
a  mere  ceiling,  leaving  only  one  easy  step  towards  the  completion  of 
the  plan  of  Gothic  roofing.  This  step  was  to  collect  the  vaults  of  the 
side  galleries  into  a  mass  over  each  pier,  and  use  them  as  flying  but- 
tresses, and  to  employ  wooden  roofs  everywhere,  wholly  independent 
of  the  vaults  which  they  covered. 


504 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Vezelay  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  remaining  churches  of 
its  age  in  Burgundy,  notwithstanding  that  the  choir,  which  is  a  chevet 
in  the  early  pointed  style,  like  those  in  the  northern  province,  rather 
<listurbs  the  harmony  of  the  whole. 

Among  the  remaining  churches  of  this  class,  the  cathedral  at 
Besangon  is  one  of  the  few  double-apse  churches  of  France,  and  is,  in 


372.   Chevet,  St,  Meiioux.    (From  Allier.) 

plan  at  least,  very  much  more  like  those  we  find  on  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine. 

The  cathedral  at  Vienne,  mentioned  above,  might  from  some  of  its 
details,  particularly  the  form  of  the  pier  arches,  be  fairly  classed  with 
this  style,  showing,  as  it  does,  the  fluted  pilasters  and  other  classical 
adjuncts  found  here.  These  peculiarities  are  common  both  to  this 
and  the  Proven9al  style,  but  the  boundary  between  them  is  by  no 
means  .clearly  defined. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  V. 


BURGUNDY. 


505 


On  the  northern  border  of  the  province  we  find  tlie  church  of  St. 
Menoux  (Woodcut  No.  371),  belonging  certainly  in  many  of  its  details 
to  the  style  we  are  now  describing.  This  is  most  distinctly  observable 
in  the  exterior  of  the  apse  of  the  chevet,  a  feature  which  is  seldom 
found  unaltered ;  here  it  is  surrounded  by  a  series  of  pilasters  of  rude 
classical  design,  which  give  to  it  a  peculiar  local  character.  Internally, 
too,  its  Chevet  (Woodcut  No.  372)  is  remarkably  elegant,  though  less 
Burgundian  in  style.  It  shows  to  what  an  extent  the  stilting  of  round 
arches  could  be  used  to  overcome  the  difhculty  of  combining  arches 
of  different  spans,  but  all  requiring  to  be  carried  to  the  same  height. 
Like  all  the  old  churches  of  the  province,  it  possesses  a  large  and  im- 
portant narthex,  here  the  oldest  part  of  the  church,  and  a  rude  and 
characteristic  specimen  of  a  style  of  architecture  that  can  hardly  be 
later  than  the  10th  century. 

These  few  specimens  must  suffice  to  define  a  style  which  well 
deserves  a  volume  to  itself,  not  only  on  account  of  its  own  architect- 
ural merit,  but  from  the  enormous  influence  exercised  both  by  the 
order  itself  and  by  its  monastic  founders  on  the  civilization  of  Europe 
in  the  age  to  which  it  belongs.  During  the  11th  and  12th  centuries 
Cluny  was  more  important  to  France  than  Paris.  Its  influence  on 
the  whole  of  Europe  was  second  only  to  that  of  Rome  —  civilizing 
barbarians  by  its  missionaries,  withstanding  the  feudal  nobility,  and 
in  many  ways  counteracting  the  ferocity  of  the  times.. 


506 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


PA.R'r  II 


CHAPTER  VI. 
FRANKISH  PROVINCE. 

CONTENTS. 

Exceptional  buildings  —  Basse  CEuvre,  Beauvais  —  Decoration. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

rpHE  arcliitecture  of  the  Northern  division  of  France  is  certainly 
J-  the  most  interesting  subject  in  the  whole  history  of  the  Mediaeval 
styles,  inasmuch  as  it  comprehends  the  origin  and  progress  of  that 
form  of  pointed  architecture  which  in  the  13th  century  extended  from 
Paris  as  a  centre  to  the  remotest  corners  of  Europe,  pervading  the 
wliole  of  Germany,  Britain,  and  even  Spain  and  Italy.  In  these 
eounti-ies  it  generally  obliterated  their  own  peculiar  styles,  and  usurped 
tlieir  ])laces,  so  that  it  became  the  Gothic  style  par  eminence^  and  the 
only  one  ordinarily  understood  under  that  name.  It  has  gained  this 
distinction,  not  per}ia])s  so  much  from  any  inherent  merit  of  its  own, 
as  because  it  M  as  tlie  only  one  of  all  the  Mediaeval  styles  which  was 
carried  beyond  the  simple  rudiments  of  the  art,  and  enjoyed  the 
advantage  of  being  perfected  by  a  powerful  and  united  people  who 
had  advanced  beyond  the  first  elements  of  civilized  society.  It  is 
needless  now  to  inquire  whether  the  other  styles  might  not  have 
been  made  as  perfect,  or  more  so,  had  the  same  amount  of  talent 
and  of  time  been  bestowed  upon  them.  All  we  can  say  is,  that  no 
other  style  was  so  carried  out,  and  it  is  impossible  to  attempt  it 
now;  the  pointed  Gothic  had  therefore  the  opportunity  which  the 
others  Avere  deprived  of,  and  became  the  prevalent  style  in  Europe 
during  the  Middle  Ages.  Its  history  is,  therefore,  that  to  which 
attention  must  always  be  principally  directed,  and  from  which 
all  lessons  and  all  satisfactory  reasoning  on  the  subject  must  be 
])rincipally  derived. 

The  great  divisions  into  which  the  early  history  of  the  style 
naturally  divides  itself  have  already  been  pointed  out.  The  great 
central  province  I  have  ventured  to  call  the  Prankish.  It  was 
there  that  the  true  Gothic  pointed  style  was  invented,  and  thence 
that  it  issued  in  the  middle  of  the  12th  century,  first  pervading 
the  two  great  subordinate  divisions  of  Normandy  on  the  one  hand, 
and  Burgundy  on  the  other.    In  Normandy,  before  this  time,  a 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VI. 


FRANKISH  PROVINCE. 


507 


warlike  race  had  raised  themselves  to  power,  and,  with  an  incon- 
sistency characteristic  of  their  state  of  civilization,  devoted  to  sacred 
purposes  the  wealth  they  had  acquired  by  rapine  and  plunder, 
covering  their  province  with  churches,  and  perfecting  a  j-ude  style 
of  architecture  singularly  expressive  of  their  bold  and  energetic 
character. 

In  Burgundy,  as  we  have  just  seen,  both  the  style  and  iCs  history 
differed  considerably  from  this.  FroHi  some  cause,  which  has  not 
■yet  been  explained,  this  country  became  early  the  favorite  resort  of 
hermits  and  of  holy  men,  who  founded  here  those  great  monastic 
establishments  which  spread  their  influence,  not  only  over  France, 
but  over  the  whole  of  Europe,  controlling  to  an  immense  extent  all 
the  relations  of  European  society  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  culmi- 
nating epoch  of  the  architecture 
of  Normandy  and  Burgundy  wa^ 
the  11th  century.  In  the  12th, 
the  monarchical  sway  of  the  cen- 
tral province  was  beginning  to 
be  felt  in  them.  In  the  13th  it 
superseded  the  local  character 
of  both,  and  gradually  fused 
them  with  the  whole  of  France 
into  one  great  and  singularly 
uniform  architectural  province. 


Latin  Style. ^ 

Before  proceeding  to  describe 
the  local  forms  of  architecture  in 
Central  France  it  is  necessary 
to  say  a  few  words  regarding  a 
class  of  buildings  which  have 
not  hitherto  been  mentioned, 
but  which  must  not  be  passed 
over.  These  cannot  be  included 
in  any  other  style,  and  are  so 
nearly  devoid  of  architectural 
features,  properly  so  called,  that 
they  might  have  been  omitted 


Plan  and  Section  of  Basse  CEuvre,  Beau 
vais.  (From  Woillez,  "  Monuments  Re- 
ligieux  de  Beauvais.") 


l)ut  for  one  consideration.  They  bear  so  remarkable  a  resemblance  to 
the  earliest  Christian  churches  of  Rome  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the 
true  Gothic  on  the  other,  that  we  cannot  doubt  their  being  the  channel 


'  "Style  Latin"  is  the  name  generally  adopted  for  this  style  by  the  Frencb 
Architects. 


508 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


through  which  the  latter  was  derived  from  the  former.  They  are 
moreover,  the  oldest  churches  in  Northern  France,  which  is  sufficient 
to  confirm  this  view. 

The  character  of  this  style  will  be  understood  from  the  plan  and 
internal  and  external  view  of  one  of  its  typical  examples,  the  Basse 
(Euvre  at  Beauvais  (Woodcuts  Nos.  373  and  374).  It  will  be  seen 
that  this  building  consists  of  a  nave  and  side-aisles,  separated  from 
each  other  by  a  range  of  plain  arches  resting  on  piers  without  either 
bases  or  capitals ;  on  one  side  the  angles  are  cut  off,  so  as  to  give  a 
slightly  ornamental  character;   on  the  other  they  are  left  square. 


374.   External  aud  Internal  View  of  Basse  CEuvre.    (ilom  W  oilicz.y 


The  central  aisle  is  twice  the  width,  and  more  than  twice  the  height, 
jf  the  lateral  aisles,  and  has  a  well-defined  clerestory ;  the  roof, 
both  of  the  central  and  side-aisles,  is  a  flat  ceiling  of  wood.  The 
eastern  end  has  been  destroyed,  but,  judging  from  other  examples, 
it  probably  consisted  of  three  apses,  a  large  one  in  the  centre  and 
a  smaller  one  at  the  end  of  each  aisle. 

The  similarity  of  the  form  of  this  church  to  the  Roman  basilicas 
will  be  evident  on  referring  to  the  representations  of  those  buildings, 
more  especially  to  that  of  San  Vincenzo  alle  Tre  Fontane  (Woodcut 
Ko.  285),  though  the  details  have  nothing  in  common  except  in  the 
use  of  flat  tiles  between  the  cornices  of  the  arches,  which  is  singularly 
characteristic  of  Roman  masonry.  The  points  in  which  this  example 
is  most  evidently  the  source  of  some  of  the  important  peculiarities  of 
the  true  Gothic,  are  the  subordination  of  the  side-aisles  to  the  central 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VI. 


FRANKISH  PROVINCE 


501)' 


one,  and  the  perfectly  developed  clerestory.  These  are  not  found  in. 
any  of  the  styles  of  France  hitherto  described. 

Eventually,  as  we  shall  shortly  see,  stone  became  the  material 
used  in  the  interior  ceiling  of  Gothic  vaults,  but  protected  externally 
by  a  wooden  roof.  This  stone  vault  was  not,  I  believe,  attempted 
before  the  11th  century.  In  the  meanwhile  wooden-roofed  churches, 
like  that  at  Beauvais,  seem  to  have  been  usual  and  prevalent  all 
over  the  North  of  France,  though,  as  may  he  supposed,  both  from 
the  smallness  of  their  dimensions  and  the  perishable  nature  of  their 
materials,  most  of  them  have  been  either  superseded  by  larger 
structures,  or  have  been  destroyed  by  fire  or  by  the  accidents  of 
time. 

M.  Woillez  describes  five  or  six  as  existing  still  in  the  diocese 
of  Beauvais,  and  varying  in  age  from  the  6th  or  7th  century,  which 
probably  is  the  date  of  the  Basse  CEuvre,  to  the  beginning  of  the 
11th  century;  and  if  other  districts  were  carefully  examined,  more 
examples  would  probably  be  found.  Normandy  must,  perhaps,  be 
excepted,  for  there  the  rude  Northmen  seem  first  to  have  destroyed 
all  the  churches,  and  then  to  have  rebuilt  them  with  a  magnificence 
they  did  not  previously  possess. 

Churches  of  the  same  class,  or  others  at  least  extremely  similar  to- 
them,  as  far  as  we  can  judge  from  such  representations  as  have  l)een 

published,  exist  even  beyond  the   r— ^-^  

Loire.  There  is  one  at  Savonieres 
in  Anjou,  and  a  still  more  curious 
one  at  St.  Genereux  in  Vienne,  not 
far  from  Poitiers,  which  shows  in 
great  perfection  a  style  of  decora- 
tion by  triangular  pediments  and 
a  peculiar  sort  of  mosaic  in  brick- 
work. 

The  same  style  of  decoration  is 
carried  out  in  the  old  church  of  St. 
Jean  at  Poitiers,  which  probably  is  even  older  than  the  Basse  O^uvre 
of  Beauvais.  The  old  church,  which  now  forms  the  ante-church  to- 
St.  Front  at  Perigeux  (Woodcut  No,  328),  seems  also  to  belong  to 
the  same  class ;  but,  if  M.  Felix  de  Verneilh's  restoration  is  to  be 
trusted,  it  approaches  nearer  to  a  Romanesque  style  than  any  other  of 
its  class,  of  which  it  may  nevertheless  possibly  be  the  most  southern, 
example. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  example  of  the  style  is-  the  nave 
of  the  church  of  Mortier  en  Der,  near  Vassy,  almost  due  east  from 
Paris.  It  is  perfectly  plain,  very  like  San  Vincenzo  (Woodcut  No. 
285),  and  is  a  perfect  Romanesque  example  Avith  a  wooden  roof;; 
the  design  for  which  was  probably  brought  direct  from  Rome  when 


375. 


Decoration  of  St.  G6iiereux. 
Gailliabaud.) 


(From 


510 


FKENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


this  clnircli  was  erected  in  this  remote  village.  What,  however, 
gives  it  its  greatest  interest  for  our  present  purpose  arises  from 
the  fact  that  the  apse  or  choir  was  rebuilt  in  the  13th  century,  and 
Ave  have  consequently  in  immediate  juxtaposition  the  Romanesque 
model  as  it  was  introduced  to  the  Barbarians,  and  the  result  of  their 
elaboration  of  it  —  the  germ  of  the  Gothic  style  and  the  full-blown 
flowei*. 

As  before  pointed  out  (p.  453),  the  progress  was  slow  in  the 
formation  of  a  new  style  during  the  1000  years  that  elapsed  between 
the  building  of  the  Temple  of  Diana  at  Nimes  and  the  Church  at 
Carcassone;  but  here  within  the  limits  of  two   or  at  most  three 


37G.    Secti  jn  of  Eastern  I'ortioii  of  (  huich  of  INIortier  en  Der.    (From  the  "  Archives 
(les  Monuments,"  etc.) 


centuries,  tlie  progress  made  was  so  rapid  as  to  be  startling.  The 
inhabitants  of  Central  France  appear  at  once  to  have  compreliended 
the  significance  of  the  problem,  and  to  have  worked  it  out  with  a 
steadiness  and  energy  of  w^hicli  it  must  be  difficult  to  find  another 
example.  The  nave  of  the  church  is  as  poor  and  as  lean  as  it  can 
Avell  be,  but  every  part  of  the  choir  is  ornamented,  while  nothing 
is  overdone ;  and  there  is  not  one  single  ornament  which  is  not 
appropriate  to  its  place,  or  which  may  not  fairly  be  considered  as 
a  part  of  the  ornamented  construction  of  the  building.  It  was  an 
entirely  new  style  invented  on  the  spot,  and  complete  in  all  its 
parts.  Some  of  its  ornaments  were  afterwai-ds  made  more  elegant, 
and  more  might  have  been  done  in  this  direction ;  but  as  here 
represented  the  style  was  completed,  and  it  is  certainly  one  of  the 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VI. 


FKANKISH  PROVINCE. 


511 


most  beautiful  creations  of  the  class  which  ever  emanated  from  the 
activity  of  the  human  brain.  It  is  also  interesting  as  being  one  of 
the  few  where  every  step  in  the  progress  can  be  traced  and  every 
result  understood. 

What  we  have  now  to  attempt,  is  to  point  out  —  as  clearly  as 
our  limits  will  admit  of  —  the  steps  by  which  the  rude  architecture  of 
the  western  half  of  the  chuxch  of  Mortier  en  Der  was  converted  into 
the  perfected  style  of  the  cboir  as  shown  in  the  woodcut  on  the  pre- 
vious page. 


512  FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE.  Part  IL 


CHAPTEH  VIL 
NORMANDY. 

CONTENTS. 

Triapsal  churches  —  Churches  at  Caen  —  Interesting  vaulting  —  Bayeux. 

WITH  one  or  two  slight  exceptions,  the  whole  history  of  the  Round' 
arched  Norman  Gothic  is  comprehended  within  a  period  of  less  than 
a  century.  No  building  in  this  style  is  known  to  have  been  even  com- 
menced before  the  year  1050,  and  before  1150  the  pointed  style  had 
superseded  it  in  its  native  province.  Indeed,  practically  speaking,  all 
the  great  and  typical  examples  are  crowded  into  the  last  fifty  years 
of  the  11th  century.  This  was  a  period  of  great  excitement  and  pros- 
perity with  the  Northmen,  who,  having  at  last  settled  themselves  in 
tliis  fertile  province,  not  only  placed  their  dukes  on  an  equality  with 
any  of  the  powers  then  existing  in  France,  but  by  their  conquest  of 
England  raised  their  chief  to  an  importance  and  a  rank  superior 

to  that  of  any  other 
potentate  in  Europe, 
except  the  German 
emperors  of  that  day, 
with  whose  people 
they  were  in  fact,  both 
by  race  and  policy, 
more  closely  allied 
than  they  were  with 
those  among  whom 
they  had  settled. 

There  are  two  ex- 
ceptional churches  in 
Normandy  Avhich 
should  not  be  passed 
over  in  silence :  one 
is  a  little  triapsal 
oratory  at  St.  Wandrille ;  the  other  a  similar  but  somewhat  more 
important  church  at  Querqueville,  near  Cherbourg,  on  the  coast  of 
Brittany.  Both  are  rude  and  simple  in  their  outline  and  ornaments ; 
they  are  built  with  that  curious  herring-bone  or  diagonal  masonry 
indicative  of  great  age,  and  differing  in  every  essential  respect  from 
the  works  of  the  Normans  when  they  came  into  possession  of  the- 


Triapsal  Church  at  Querqueville.    (From  Dawson 
Turner's  "Normandy.") 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VII. 


NORMANDY. 


513 


province.  Indeed,  like  the  transitional  churches  last  described,  these 
must  be  considered  as  the  religious  edifices  of  the  inhabitants  before 
that  invasion  ;  and  if  they  show  any  affinity  to  any  other  style,  it  is 
to  Belgium  and  Germany  we  must  look  for  it  rather  than  anywhere 
within  the  boundaries  of  France. 

Amongst  the  oldest-looking  buildings  of  pure  Norman  architecture 
is  the  church  of  Lery,  near  Pont  de  I'Arche.  It  is  the  only  one,  so  far 
as  is  known,  with  a  simple  tunnel-vault,  and  this  is  so  massive,  and 
rests  on  piers  of  such  unusual  solidity,  as  to  give  it  an  appejirance  of 
immense  antiquity.  There  is  no  good  reason,  however,  for  believing 
that  it  really  is  older  than  the  chapel  of  the  Tower  of  London,  which 
it  resembles  in  most  respects,  though  the  latter  is  of  somewhat  lighter 
architecture. 

Passing  from  this  we  come  to  a  series  of  at  least  five  important 
churches,  all  erected  in  the  latter  half  of  the  11th  century.  The  first 
of  these  is  the  church  of  Jumieges,  the  western  end  of  which  was 
principally  erected  by  Robert,  afterwards  Bishop  of  London,  and 
finally  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Its  precise  date  is  not  very  well 
known,  though  it  was  probably  begun  before  1050,  and  certainly 
shows  a  far  ruder  and  less  complete  style  of  architecture  than  any  of 
the  later  churches.  It  is  doubtful  whether  it  was  ever  intended  to 
throw  a  vault  over  the  nave  ;  yet  the  walls  and  piers  are  far  more 
massive  than  those  of  the  churches  of  Caen,  or  that  of  Bocherville 
in  its  immediate  neighborhood.  This  last  we  know  to  have  been 
commenced  in  the  year  1050,  and  completed  in  1066.  This  church 
still  retains  in  a  wonderful  state  of  completeness  all  the  features 
of  a  Norman  church  of  that  age  —  the  only  part  of  it  which  is  of  a 
more  modern  date  being  the  two  western  turrets,  which  are  at  least 
a  century  later. 

The  next  of  the  series  is  the  well-known  Abbaye  aux  Hommes,  or 
St.  Stephen's,  at  Caen  (Woodcut  No.  378),  commenced  by  William 
the  Conqueror,  1066,  in  gratitude  for  his  victory  at  Hastings,  and 
dedicated  eleven  years  afterwards.  Then  follow  the  sister  church 
of  the  Trinite,  or  Abbaye  aux  Dames,  commenced  in  1083,  and  the 
parish  church  of  St.  Nicolas  at  Caen,  begun  in  the  following  year. 
These  two  last  were  almost  certainly  completed  within  the  limits  of 
the  11th  century. 

Of  all  these  the  finest  is  St.  Stephen's,  which  is  a  first-class 
church,  its  extreme  length  being  364  ft.  It  was  not  originally  so 
long,  having  terminated  with  an  apse,  as  shown  in  the  plan.  Fig.  1, 
which  was  superseded  about  a  century  afterwards  by  a  chevet,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  2.  This,  however,  was  an  innovation  —  all  the  round 
Gothic  churches  in  Normandy  having  originally  been  built  with 
apses,  nor  do  I  know  of  a  single  instance  of  a  chevet  in  the  province. 
This  circumstance  points  rather  to  Germany  than  to  the  neighboring 
VOL.  I.  —  33 


514 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  11. 


districts  of  France  for  the  origin  of  the  Norman  style  —  indeed,  all 
the  arrangements  of  this  church  are  more  like  those  of  the  Rhenish 
basilicas,  that  of  Spires  for  example,  than  any  of  those  churches 
we  have  hitherto  found  within  the  limits  of  France  itself.  This 
is  more  remarkable  at  Jumieges  than  even  here.  None  of  them, 
however,  has  two  apses,  nor  are  latei-al  entrances  at  all  in  use ;  on 
the  contrary,  the  western  end,  or  that  opposite  the  altar,  is  always, 
as  in  the  true  basilica,  the  principal  entrance.  In  Normandy  we 
generally  find  this  flanked  by  two  towers,  which  give  it  a  dignity 
and  importance  not  found  in  any  of  those  styles  we  have  been 
These  western  towers  became  afterwards  in  France 
the  most  important  features  of  the  ex- 
ternal architecture  of  churches,  though 
it  is  by  no  means  clear  whence  they 
were  derived.  They  are  certainly  of 
neither  Italian 
nor  German  de- 
rivation, nor  do 
they  belong  to 
any  of  those 
styles  of  the 
Southern  prov- 
inces of  France 
which  we  have 
been  describing.  The  churches  of  Au- 
vergne  are  those  which  perhaps  show  the 
nearest  approach  to  them. 

On  the  whole  it  appears  most  probable 
that  the  western  fronts  of  the  Norman 
churches  were  taken  from  the  facades  of 
Germany,  and  the  towers  added  to  give 
dignity  to  them .  As  will  be  seen  from  the 
view  (Woodcut  No.  379)  in  St.  Stephen'^ 
at  Caen  the  feature  is  well  marked  and 
defined  ;  for  though  the  spires  were  ap- 
parently added  at  the  same  time  as  the 
chevet,  the  towers  which  support  them 
evidently  belong  to  the  original  design.  They  may  be  regarded  as 
the  prototype  of  the  fafades  of  nearly  all  the  Gothic  cathedrals  of 
France.  These  western  towers  eventually  superseded  the  attempt 
made  to  raise  the  principal  external  feature  of  the  churches  on  the 
intersection  of  the  nave  with  the  transepts,  as  had  been  done  in  the 
South,  and  they  made  the  western  front  the  most  important  part,  not 
only  in  decoration,  but  in  actual  height.  Here  and  throughout  the 
North  of  France,  with  the  exception  of  the  churches  at  Rouen,  the 


►  --J 

Fig.l.   Original  Eastern 
Termination. 


Fig.  2. 

378.  Plan  of  the  Cliurch  of  St. 
Stephen,  Caen.  (From  Kam^e, 
"Histoire  de  I'Architecture.") 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VII. 


NORMANDY. 


515 


central  tower  is  low  and  comparatively  insignificant,  scarcely  even 
aspiring  to  group  with  those  of  the  western  facade. 


Intersecting  Vaulting. 

As  there  are  few  churches  in  France  which  illustrate  so  completely 
the  difficulties  of  intersecting  vaulting,  and  the  struggle  of  the  Medi- 
aeval architects  to  conquer  them,  as  St.  Stephen's,  Caen  it  may  add  to 
the  clearness  of  what 
follows  if  we  pause  in 
our   narrative   to  ex- 
plain what  these  were. 

The  churches  de- 
scribed hitherto  pos- 
sessed simple  tunnel- 
vaults,  either  of  round 
or  pointed  forms,  or, 
having  no  side-aisles, 
were  roofed  with  square 
intersecting  vaults  of 
equal  dimensions  each 
way.  The  former  plan 
was  admissible  in  the 
briofht  South,  where 
light  was  not  so  much 
required  ;  but  the 
latter  expedient  de- 
prived the  churches  of 
several  things  whicli 
were  always  felt  to  be 
the  powerful  requisites 
of  an  internal  style  of 
architecture.  Without 
the  contrast  in  height 
between  the  central 
and  side  aisles,  the  true 
effect  of  the  dimen- 
sions could  not  be  ob- 
tained. Without  the  in- 
ternal pillars  no  poetry 
of  proportion  was  pos- 
sible, and  without  an  ambulatory,  processions  lost  their  meaning. 
The  compartments  of  the  aisles  being  square,  no  difficulty  was 
experienced  as  regards  them ;  but  the  central  aisle  being  both 
higher  and  wider,  it  became  necessary  either  to  ignore  every  alternate 


379. 


Western  Facade  of  St.  Stephen,  Caen.    (From  Pugin 
and  Britten's  "Normandy.") 


516 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  11. 


C'ive  it  at  least 


pillar  of  the  aisle,  and  to  divide  the  central  roof  equally  into  squares, 
or  to  adopt  some  compromise.  This  difficulty  was  not  got  over  till 
the  pointed  arch  was  introduced;  but,  in  the  meanwhile,  it  is 
very  instructive  to  watch  the  various  attempts  that  were  made  to 
obviate  it. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Norman  architects,  with  true 
Gothic  feeling,  always  intended  that  their  churches  should  eventually 
be  vaulted,  and  prei)ared  them  accordingly,  though  in  many  instances 
they  were  constructed  with  wooden  roofs,  or  compromises  of  some 
sort.  Even  at  Jumieges,  the  alternate  piers  were  made  stronger,  and 
the  intention  there  and  in  other  instances  seems  to  have  been  to  throw 
a  stone  arch  across  the  nave  so  as  to  break  the  flat  line  of  the  roof,  and 
a  certain  amount  of  permanent  character.  In  the 
Abbaye  aux  Hommes,  Caen, 
even  this  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  attempted  in  the 
first  instance.  The  vaulting 
shafts  were  carried  right  up 
and  made  to  support  wooden 
trusses,  as  shown  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  diagram  (Wood- 
cut No.  380). i  The  intention, 
however,  may  have  been  to 
cut  these  away  when  the 
vault  should  come  to  be 
erected.  In  England  they 
frequently  remain, but  rarely, 
if  ever,  in  Normandy.  The 
next  step  was  to  construct  a 
quadripartite  vault  over  the  nave,  and  a  sim])le  arch  supporting  its 
ci'own  over  the  intermediate  shaft.  This  was  soon  seen  to  be  a  mis- 
take, and  in  fact  Avas  only  a  makeshift.  In  consequence  at  Caen  a 
compromise  Avas  adopted,  Avhich  the  Woodcut  No.  382  will  explain,  — 
a  sort  of  intermediate  vault  was  introduced  springing  from  the  alter- 
nate piers.2  Mechanically  it  was  right,  artistically  it  was  painfully 
wrong.  It  introduced  and  declared  a  number  of  purely  constructive 
features  without  artistic  arrangement  or  ])leasing  lines,  and  altogether 


i'jy.  1,  after  Vaulting;  Fig.  i',  bcloix-  \  ;u 
Section  of  Nave  of  St.  Stephen,  Caen. 


^  From  a  paper  by  Mr.  Parker  on  this 
subject  read  to  the  Institute  of  British 
Architects. 

2  This  arrangement  is  known  by  the 
name  of  hexapartite,  or  sexapartite,  be- 
cause the  compartment  of  the  vault 
having  been  divided  into  four  by  the 
great  diagonal  arches  crossing  one  an- 
other in  the  centre  (which  was  the  quad- 


ripartite arrangement),  two  of  the  four 
quarters  were  again  divided  by  the  arch 
thrown  across  from  one  intermediate 
pillar  to  the  other,  thus  making  six 
divisions  in  all,  though  no  longer  all  of 
equal  dimensions,  as  in  the  quadripartite 
method.  Both  these  arrangements  are 
shown  in  plan  on  Woodcut  No.  378. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VII. 


NORMANDY. 


517 


381.   Diagram  of  Vaulting. 


showed  so  plainly  the  mere  mechanical  structural  wants  of  the  roof 
as  to  be  most  unpleasing.  Before,  however,  they  could  accomplish 
even  this,  the  side-aisles  had  to 
be  re-vaulted  with  pointed  arches 
so  as  to  carry  the  centre  of  gravity 
higher.  A  half  vault  was  thrown 
over  the  gallery,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
1,  on  the  left  side  of  the  Woodcut 
No.  380,  and  the  whole  upper 
structure  considerably  strength- 
ened. When  all  this  was  done 
they  ventured  to  carry  out  what ' 
was  practically,  as  will  be  seen 
from  the  plan  (Woodcut  No.  378), 
and  elevation  (Woodcut  No. 
382),  a  quadripartite  vault  with 
an  intermediate  insertion,  which 
insertion  was,  however,  neither 
quite  a  rib,  nor  quite  a  compart- 
ment of  a  vault,  but  something 
between  the  two ;  and  in  si^ite 
of  all  the  ingenuity  bestowed 
upon  it  in  Germany,  France,  and 
England,  in  the  11th  and  be- 
ginning of  the  12th  centuries, 
it  never  produced  an  entirely 
satisfactory  effect  until  at  last 
the  pointed  arch  came  to  the 
rescue.  It  is  easy  to  see  from 
the  diagram  (Woodcut  No.  381) 
how  the  introduction  of  the 
pointed  arch  obviated  the  diffi- 
culty. In  the  first  place,  sup- 
])0sing  the  great  vault  to  remain 
circular,  two  segments  of  the  same 
circle,  a  b,  a  c,  carry  the  inter- 
secting vault  nearly  to  the  height 
of  the  transverse  one,  or  it  could 
as  easily  be  carried  to  the  same 
height  as  at  d.  When  both  were 
pointed,  as  at  e  and  f,  it  was  easy 
to   make   their  relative  heights 

, ,  .  ^  .  ,  382.   Elevation  of  Compartment  of  Nave  of 

anything     the      architect     chose,  St.  Stephen,  Caen.  (From  Pugin.) 

without   either  forcing  or  intro- 
ducing any  disagreeable  curves.    By  this  means  the  compartments 


518  FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE,  Pakt  II. 

of  the  vaults  of  the  central  nave  were  made  the  same  width  as  those 
of  the  side-aisles,  whatever  their  span  might  be,  and  every  compart- 
ment or  bay  w^as  a  complete  design  in  itself,  without  reference  to 
those  next  to  it  on  either  side. 

The  arrangement  in  elevation  of  the  internal  compartments  of  the 
nave  of  this  church  will  be  understood  from  Woodcut  No.  382,  where 
it  will  \  e  seen  that  the  aisles  are  low,  and  above  them  runs  a  great 
gallery,  a  feature  common  in  Italy,  but  rare  in  Germany.  Its  intro- 
luction  may  have  arisen  either  from  a  desire  for  increased  accommo- 
dation, or  merely  to  obtain  height,  as  it  is  evident  that  an  arch  the 
whole  height  of  the  side-aisles  and  gallery  would  be  singularly  narrow 
and  awkward.  This  was  one  of  those  difficulties  which  were  only 
got  over  by  the  introduction  of  the  pointed  arch ;  but  which,  when- 
ever attvjmpted  in  the  circular  style,  led  to  very  disagreeable  and 
stilted  effects.  It  may,  however,  have  been  suggested  by  the  abutting 
galleries  we  find  so  frequently  used  in  Southern  churches.  Be  this  as 
it  may,  the  two  stories  of  the  aisles  fill  up  the  height  far  more  pleas- 
ingly than  could  be  done  by  one,  and  bring  an  abutment  up  to  the 
very  springing  of  the  main  vault  of  the  nave. 

The  worst  feature  in  this  elevation  is  the 
clerestory,  where  the  difficulties  of  the  vault- 
ing introduced  a  lop-sided  arrangement  very 
destructive  of  true  architectural  effect,  and 
only  excusable  here  from  the  inherent  diffi- 
culties of  a  first  attempt. 

During  the  twenty  or  thirty  years  that 
elapsed  between  the  building  of  St.  Stephen's 
church  and  that  of  the  Abbaye  aux  Dames, 
immense  progress  seems  to  have  been  made 
towards  the  new  style,  as  will  be  seen  from 
the  annexed  elevation  of  one  compartment 
of  the  nave  of  the  latter.  The  great  gallery 
is  omitted,  the  side-ai(^,les  made  higher,  the 
piers  lighter  and  more  ornamental.  The  tri- 
foriura  is  a  mere  passage  under  the  upper 
windows,  and  so  managed  as  not  to  intercept 
their  light  from  any  part  of  the  church.  Even 
the  vaulting,  though  in  some  parts  hexapartite, 
in  others  shows  a  great  approach  to  the 
quadripartite  vaulting  of  the  subsequent  age  ; 
this,  however,  is  obtained  by  bringing  down 
the  main  vault  to  the  level  of  the  side  vault, 
^Lme^.^cfer^'cFr'^m^^^^  and  not  by  raising  the  side  arches  to  the  level 
of  the  central,  as  was  afterwards  done.  The 
greatest  change  is  ia  the  richness  and  elegance  of  the  details,  which 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VII. 


NORMANDY. 


51^ 


show  great  progress  towards  the  more  ornamental  style  that  soon 
afterwards  came  into  use. 

The  parochial  church  of  St.  Nicolas  at  Caen  is  naturally  plainer  than 
either  of  these  royal  abbeys.  It  shows  considerable  progress  in  con- 
struction, and  deserves  far  more  attention  tlian  it  has  hitherto  met 
with.  It  is  the  only  church,  so  far  as  I  know,  in  Normandy,  that 
retains  the  original  external  covering  of  its  apse.  This  consists,  as 
shown  in  the  woodcut  (No.  384),  of  a  high,  pyramidal  roof  of  stone, 


^ 


384.   East  End  of  St.  Nicholas,  Caeu.    (From  Dawson  Turner's  "  Normandy.") 


following  to  tlie  eastward  the  polygonal  form  of  the  apse,  and  extend- 
ing one  bay  towards  the  west.  From  an  examination  of  the  central 
tower,  it  is  clear  that  this  was  not  the  original  ])itch  of  the  church 
roof,  which  was  nearly  as  low  in  all  Norman  churches  as  in  those  of 
AuvergnCo  In  this  instance  the  roof  over  the  apse  was  a  sort  of  semi- 
spire  placed  over  an  altar,  to  mark  externally  the  im])ortance  of  the 
portion  of  the  church  beneath  it.  In  apj)earance  it  is  identical  with 
the  polygonal  cones  at  Loches,  before  mentioned.  At  Bourges,  and 
elsewhere  in  France,  similar  cones  are  found  over  chapels  and  altars; 
but  in  most  instances  they  have  been  removed,  probably  from  some 


520 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  IL 


defect  in  constructioD,  or  from  their  not  harmonizing  with  the  wooden 
roofs  of  the  rest  of  tlie  church.  They  were,  in  fact,  the  originals  of 
the  spires  which  afterwards  became  so  much  in  vogue,  and  as  such 
their  history  would  be  interesting  if  j^roperly  inquired  into. 

The  cathedral  of  Bayeux,  as  now  standing,  is  considerably  more 
inodern  than  either  of  these ;  no  part  now  remains  of  the  church  of 
Odo,  the  brother  of  the  Conqueror,  except  the  lower  portion  of  the 
western  towers,  and  a  crypt  which  is  still  older.  The  pier  arches  of 
the  nave  belong  to  the  first  half  of  the  12th  century,  the  rest  of  the 
churcli  to  tlie  rebuilding,  which  was  commenced  1157,  after  the  town 
had  been  burnt,  and  the  cathedral  considerably  damaged  by  the  sol- 
diers of  Henry  I.  At  this  time  the  apse  was  removed  to  make  way  for 
a  die  vet,  which  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  early  pointed 
Gotliic  to  be  found  in  France,  and  far  surpasses  its  rival  in  the  Abbaye 
anx  Homnies  at  Caen.  In  the  church  at 
Caen  the  alteration  was  probably  made  to 
receive  the  tomb  of  the  Conqueror,  when  that 
veneration  began  to  be  shown  to  his  remains 
which  was  denied  to  himself  when  dying. 
Here,  however,  the  same  motive  does  not 
seem  to  have  existed,  and  it  is  more  probable 
that  the  extension  was  caused  by  the  im- 
mense increase  of  the  priesthood  in  the  course 
of  the  11th  and  12th  centuries,  requiring  a 
larger  choir  for  their  accommodation.  We 
know,  from  the  disposition  of  the  choir,  that 
pai  tment,  Nave,  the  navc  originally  had  a  great  gallery  over 
(From  Pugin.)  side-aislcs,  and  consequently  a  low  clere- 
story. But  before  it  was  rebuilt,  in  the  end  of  the  12th  or  beginning 
of  the  13th  century,  the  mania  for  painted  glass  had  seized  on  the 
French  architects,  and  all  architectural  propriety  was  sacrificed  to 
this  mode  of  decoration.  In  the  present  instance  we  cannot  help 
contrasting  the  solid  grandeur  of  the  basement  with  the  lean  and 
attenuated  forms  of  the  superstructure,  although  this  attenuation  was 
in  other  examples  carried  to  a  still  greater  extent  afterwards. 

The  diapering  of  the  spandrils  of  the  lower  arches  (Woodcut  No.  385) 
is  another  feature  worthy  of  remark,  as  illustrating  the  history  of  the 
style.  Before  painted  glass  was  introduced,  the  walls  of  all  churches 
in  Northern  Europe  were  covered  with  fresco  or  distemper  paintings, 
as  was  then,  and  is  to  the  present  day,  the  case  in  Europe.  But  when 
colored  windows  came  into  use,  the  comparative  dulness  of  the  former 
mode  of  decoration  was  immediately  felt,  and  the  use  of  color  confined 
to  the  more  brilliant  transparent  material.  It  was  necessary  to  find  a 
substitute  for  the  wall  painting,  and  the  most  obvious  expedient  was 
that  of  carving  on  the  stone  the  same  patterns  which  it  had  been 


Lower  Co 
Bayeux 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VII. 


NORMANDY. 


521 


customary  to  paint  on  them.  An  attempt  was  made,  indeed,  to 
heighten  the  effect  of  this  carving  by  inlaying  the  lines  with  colored 
mastic  or  cement ;  but  the  process  was  soon  found  to  be  not  only 
very  expensive  but  very  ineffective,  and  gave  way  afterwards  to 
sculptured  figures  in  traceried  panels.  These  ornaments  easily  filled 
up  the  very  small  spaces  of  wall  that  were  not  occupied  either  by  the 
windows,  which  were  greatly  enlarged,  or  by  the  constructive  sup- 
ports of  the  building.  Now,  however,  that  color  is  gone,  both  from 
the  walls  and  the  windows,  this  diapering  gives  a  singularly  rich  and 
pleasing  effect  to  the  architecture  of  the  lower  story,  and,  combined 
with  the  massiveness  and  varied  richness  of  the  piers  themselves, 
renders  this  a  nearly  unique  specimen  of  a  Norman  arcade,  and  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  that  has  come  down  to  us. 

These  examples  are,  it  is  hoped,  sufficient  to  make  known  the  general 
characteristics  of  a  style  which  is  at  the  same  time  of  great  interest 
to  the  English  reader  from  its  proximity  to  our  shores,  and  from  its 
influence  on  our  own,  although  it  is  comparatively  so  familiar  as  to 
require  less  information  than  many  others.  Besides  the  examples 
above  described,  many  other  specimens  of  Norman  architecture  might 
have  been  given,  filling  up  the  details  of  the  series,  from  the  rude 
simplicity  of  Jumieges  to  the  elaborate  richness  of  the  nave  of  Bay- 
eux,  and  showing  a  rapidity  of  progress  and  boldness  in  treating  the 
subject  hardly  surpassed  in  the  succeeding  age ;  but  still,  with  all  its 
developments,  it  can  only  be  considered  as  a  first  rude  attempt  to 
form  a  style  of  architecture  which  was  superseded  before  its  principles 
began  to  be  understood,  and  lost  before  it  had  received  any  of  those 
finishing  touches  which  form  the  great  element  of  beauty  in  all  the 
more  perfect  styles. 


n22 


FEENCH  ARCHITECTUKE. 


Part  IL 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
FRANKISH  ARCHITECTURE. 

CONTENTS. 

Historical  notice  —  Tlie  pointed  arcli —  Freemasonry —  Mediaeval  arcliitects. 

THE  architectural  history  of  the  Central  or  Prankish  province  is 
widely  different  from  that  of  any  of  those  we  have  yet  examined. 
At  the  end  of  the  5th  century  the  whole  of  the  North  of  France  was 
overrun  by  Clovis  and  his  Franks,  and  on  his  death,  in  511,  his  domin- 
ions were  divided  into  four  kingdoms,  of  which  Metz,  Paris,  Soissons, 
and  Orleans  were  the  capitals.  If  we  take  these  cities  as  centres, 
and  add  their  districts  together,  they  correctly  represent  the  limits  of 
the  architectural  province  we  are  now  entering  upon.  With  various 
fluctuations,  sometimes  one  kingdom,  sometimes  two  or  even  three 
being  absorbed  in  one,  they  were  at  last  united  under  Pepin  in  748, 
only  to  make  way  for  the  accession  of  Charlemagne  and  his  universal 
empire  over  the  whole  Gothic  districts  of  Europe,  with  the  exception 
of  England  and  Spain. 

With  the  Merovingian  kings  we  have  nothing  to  do ;  they  have 
not  left  one  single  building  from  which  to  judge  of  the  state  of  the 
art  during  their  ascendency — (they  must  have  been  Aryans  pier 
sang) — nor  can  our  history  with  propriety  be  said  even  to  begin  in 
France  with  Charlemagne.  His  accession  marks  the  epoch  towards 
which  an  archa3ologist  may  hope  to  trace  back  the  incunabula  of  the 
style,  but  as  yet  no  single  building  has  been  found  in  France  which 
can  with  certainty  be  ascribed  to  his  reign.  The  nave  at  Mortier  en 
Der,  the  Basse  QEuvre  at  Beauvais  and  other  buildings  may  approach 
his  age  in  antiquity,  but  we  must  travel  down  to  the  time  of  Capet 
(987)  ere  we  find  anything  that  can  be  considered  as  the  germ  of 
what  followed. 

This  may  in  a  great  measure  be  owing  to  the  confusion  and  anarchy 
that  followed  on  the  death  of  Charlemagne ;  and  to  the  weakness  of  the 
kings,  the  disorganization  of  the  people,  and  the  ravages  of  the  North- 
men and  other  barbarians,  from  which  it  resulted  that  no  part  of  France 
was  in  a  less  satisfactory  position  for  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  of  peace 
than  that  which  might  have  been  expected  to  take  the  lead  in  all. 
Thus,  while  the  very  plunder  of  the  Central  province  enabled  the 
Normans  to  erect  and  sustain  a  powerful  state  on  the  one  side,  and  to 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VIII. 


CENTRAL  FRANCE. 


523 


adorn  it  witli  monuments  which  still  excite  our  admiration,  and  the 
organization  of  the  monks  of  Burgundy  on  the  other  hand  promoted 
the  cultivation  of  arts  of  peace  to  an  extent  hardly  known  before  their 
time  in  Northern  Europe,  Central  France  remained  incapable  even  of 
self-defence,  and  still  more  so  of  raising  monuments  of  permanent 
splendor. 

There  must  no  doubt  have  been  buildings  in  the  round-arched 
Gothic  style  in  this  province,  but  they  were  few  and  insignificant 
compared  with  those  we  have  been  describing,  either  in  the  South  or 
in  Normandy  and  Burgundy.  Even  in  Paris  the  great  church  of  St. 
Germain  des  Pres,  the  burial  place  of  the  earlier  kings,  and  apparently 
the  most  splendid  edifice  of  the  capital,  was  not  more  than  50  feet  in 
width  by  200  in  length  before  the  rebuilding  of  its  chevet  in  the 
pointed  style,  and  it  possessed  no  remarkable  features  of  architectural 
beauty.  St.  Genevieve  was  even  smaller  and  less  magnificent ;  and  if 
there  was  a  cathedral,  it  was  so  insignificant  that  it  has  not  been 
mentioned  by  any  contemporary  historian. 

Several  of  the  provincial  capitals  probably  possessed  cathedrals  of 
some  extent  and  magnificence.  All  these,  however,  were  found  so  un- 
suited  to  the  splendid  tastes  of  the  12th  and  13th  centuries,  that  they 
were  pulled  down  and  rebuilt  on  a  more  extended  scale  ;  and  it  is  only 
from  little  fragmentary  portions  of  village  churches  that  we  learn  that 
the  round  Gothic  style  was  really  at  one  time  ])revalent  in  the  pro- 
vince, and  possessed  features  according  to  its  locality  resembling  more 
or  less  those  of  the  neighboring  styles.  So  scanty,  indeed,  are  such 
traces  that  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  recapitulate  here  the  few  obser- 
vations that  might  occur  on  the  round  Gothic  styles  as  found  within 
the  limits  of  the  province. i 

This  state  of  affairs  continued  down  to  the  reign  of  Louis  le  Gros, 
1108-1136,  under  whom  the  monarchy  of  France  began  to  revive. 
This  monarch,  by  his  activity  and  intelligence,  restored  to  a  consider- 
able extent  the  authority  of  the  central  power  over  the  then  inde- 
pendent vassals  of  the  crown.  This  was  carried  still  further  under  the 
reign  of  his  successor,  Louis  le  Jeune  (1137-1179),  though  perhaps 
more  was  owing  to  the  abilities  of  the  Abbe  Suger  than  to  either  of 
these  monarchs.  He  seems  to  have  been  one  of  those  great  men  who 
sometimes  aj^pear  at  a  crisis  in  the  history  of  their  country,  to  guide 
and  restore  what  otherwise  might  be  left  to  blind  chance  and  to  perish 
for  want  of  a  master  mind.  Under  Philip  Augustus  the  country 
advanced  with  giant  strides,  till  under  St.  Louis  it  arrived  at  the 


1  The  Church  of  St.  Eemi  at  Rheims 
ought  perhaps  to  be  treated  as  an  excep- 
tion to  this  assertion:  it  has,  however, 
been  so  much  ahered  in  more  modern 
♦^^imes  as  almost  to  have  lost  its  original 


character.  It  nevertheless  retains  the 
outlines  of  a  vast  and  noble  basilica  of 
the  early  part  of  the  11th  century,  pre- 
senting considerable  points  of  similarity 
to  those  of  Burgundy. 


624: 


FKENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  II. 


summit  of  its  power.  For  a  century  after  this  it  sustained  itself  by 
the  impulse  thus  given  to  it,  and  with  scarcely  an  external  sign  of 
that  weakness  which  betrayed  itself  in  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
whole  power  of  the  nation  crumbled  to  pieces  under  the  first  rude 
shock  sustained  in  1346  at  Crecy  from  the  hand  of  Edward  III. 

More  than  a  century  of  anarchy  and  confusion  followed  this  great 
event,  and  perhaps  the  period  of  the  English  wars  may  be  considered 
as  the  most  disastrous  of  the  whole  history  of  France,  as  the  previous 
two  centuries  had  been  the  most  brilliant.  When  she  delivered  herself 
from  these  troubles,  she  was  no  longer  the  same.  The  spirit  of  the 
Middle  Ages  had  passed  away.  The  simple  faith  and  giant  energy  of 
the  reigns  of  Philip  Augustus  and  St.  Louis  were  not  to  be  found 
under  Louis  IX.  and  his  inglorious  successors.  With  the  accession  of 
Francis  I.  a  new  state  of  affairs  succeeded,  to  the  total  obliteration 
of  all  that  had  gone  before,  at  least  in  art. 

The  improvement  of  architecture,  keeping  pace  exactly  with  the 
improved  political  condition  of  the  land,  began  with  Louis  le  Gros, 
and  continued  till  the  reign  of  Philip  of  Valois  (1108  to  1328).  It 
was  during  the  two  centuries  comprised  witliin  this  period  that  pointed 
architecture  was  invented,  which  became  the  style,  not  onl}^  of  France, 
but  of  all  Euroi)e  during  the  Middle  Ages ;  and  is,  ^xw  excellence,  the 
Gothic  style  of  Europe.  The  cause  of  this  pre-eminence  is  to  be  found 
partly  in  the  accident  of  the  superior  power  of  the  nation  to  which 
the  style  belonged  at  this  critical  period,  but  more  to  the  artistic 
feelipgs  of  their  race ;  and  also  because  the  style  was  found  the  most 
fitted  to  carry  out  certain  religious  forms  and  decorative  principles 
which  were  prevalent  at  the  time,  and  which  will  be  noted  as  we 
proceed. 

The  style,  therefore,  w^ith  which  this  chapter  is  concerned  is  that 
which  commenced  with  the  building  of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Denis,  by 
Suger,  A.D.  1144,  which  culminated  with  the  building  of  the  Sainte 
Chapelle  of  Paris  by  St.  Louis,  1244,  and  which  received  its  greatest 
amount  of  finish  at  the  completion  of  the  choir  of  St.  Ouen  at  Rouen, 
by  Mark  d'Argent,  in  1339.  There  are  pointed  arches  to  be  found  in 
the  Central  province,  as  well  as  all  over  France,  before  the  time  of  the 
Abbe  Suger;  but  they  are  only  the  experiments  of  masons  struggling 
with  a  constructive  difficulty,  and  the  pointed  style  continued  to  be  ^ 
practised  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  after  the  completion  of 
the  choir  of  St.  Ouen,  but  no  longer  in  the  pure  and  vigorous  style 
of  the  earlier  period.  Subsequent  to  this  it  resembles  more  the 
efforts  of  a  national  style  to  accommodate  itself  to  new  tastes  and  new 
feelings,  and  to  maintain  itself  by  ill-suited  arrangements  against 
the  innovation  of  a  foreign  style  which  was  to  supersede  it,  and  the 
influence  of  which  was  felt  long  before  its  definite  appearance. 

The  sources  from  which  the  pointed  arch  was  taken  have  been 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VIII. 


CENTRAL  FRANCE. 


525 


more  than  once  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  pages.  It  is  a  subject  on 
which  a  great  deal  more  has  been  said  and  written  than  was  at  all  called 
for  by  the  real  importance  of  the  question.  Scarcely  anything  was 
done  in  pointed  architecture  which  had  not  already  been  done  in  the 
round-arch  styles.  Certainly  there  is  nothing  which  could  not  have 
been  done,  at  least  nearly  as  well,  and  many  things  much  better,  by 
adhering  to  the  complete  instead  of  to  the  broken  arch.  The  coupling 
and  compounding  of  piers  had  already  been  carried  to  great  perfec- 
tion, and  the  assignment  of  a  separate  function  to  each  shaft  was 
already  a  fixed  principle.  Vaulting,  too,  was  nearly  jierfect,  only  that 
the  main  vaults  were  either  hexapartite  or  six-celled,  instead  of  quad- 
ripartite, as  they  afterwards  became ;  an  improvement  certainly,  but 
not  one  of  much  importance.  Ribbed  vaulting  was  the  greatest  im- 
provement which  the  Mediaeval  architects  made  on  the  Roman  vaults, 
giving  not  only  additional  strength  of  construction,  but  an  apparent 
vigor  and  expression  to  the  vault,  which  is  one  of  the  greatest  beauties 
of  the  style.  This  system  was  in  frequent  use  before  the  employment 
of  the  pointed  arch.  The  different  and  successive  planes  of  decoration 
were  also  one  of  the  Mediaeval  inventions,  which  was  carried  to  greater 
perfection  in  the  round  Gothic  styles  than  in  the  pointed.  Indeed,  it 
is  a  fact,  that  except  in  window  tracery,  and  perhaps  in  pinnacles  and 
flying  buttresses,  there  is  not  a  single  important  feature  in  the  pointed 
style  that  was  not  invented  and  in  general  use  before  its  introduction. 
Even  of  windows,  which  are  the  important  feature  of  the  new  style,  by 
far  the  finest  are  the  circular  or  wheel  windows,  which  have  nothing 
pointed  about  them,  and  which  always  fit  awkwardly  into  the  pointed 
compartments  in  which  they  are  placed.  In  smaller  windows,  too,  by 
far  the  most  beautiful  and  constructively  appropriate  tracery  is  that 
where  circles  are  introduced  into  the  heads  of  the  pointed  windows.  But, 
after  hundreds  of  experiments  and  expedients  had  been  tried,  the  difli- 
culty  of  fitting  these  circles  into  spherical  triangles  remained,  and  the 
unpleasant  form  to  which  their  disagreement  inevitably  gave  rise,  proved 
ultimately  so  intolerable  that  the  architects  were  forced  to  abandon 
the  beautiful  constructive  geometric  tracery  for  the  flowing  or  flam- 
boyant form ;  and  this  last  was  so  ill  adapted  to  stone  construction, 
that  the  method  was  abandoned  altogether.  These  and  many  other 
difiiculties  would  have  been  avoided,  had  the  architects  adhered  to  the 
form  of  the  unbroken  arch  ;  but  on  the  other  hand  it  must  be  confessed 
that  the  pointed  forms  gave  a  facility  of  arrangement  which  was  an 
irresistible  inducement  for  its  adoption ;  and  especially  to  the  French, 
who  always  affected  height  as  the  principal  element  of  architectural 
effect,  it  afforded  an  easy  means  for  the  attainment  of  this  object.  Its 
greatest  advantage  was  the  ease  with  which  any  required  width  could 
be  combined  with  any  required  height.  With  this  power  of  adapta- 
tion the  architect  was  at  liberty  to  indulge  in  all  the  wildness  of  tlie 


526 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II 


most  exuberant  fancy,  hardly  controlled  by  any  constructive  necessi- 
ties of  the  work  he  was  carrying  out.  Whether  this  was  really  an 
advantage  or  not  is  not  quite  clear.  A  tighter  rein  on  the  fancy  of 
the  designer  would  certainly  have  produced  a  purer  and  severer  style, 
though  we  might  have  been  deprived  of  some  of  those  picturesque 
effects  which  charm  so  much  in  Gothic  cathedrals,  especially  when 
their  abruptness  is  softened  by  time  and  hallowed  by  associations. 
We  must,  however,  in  judging  of  the  style,  be  careful  to  guard  our- 
selves against  fettering  our  judgment  by  such  associations.  There  is 
nothing  in  all  this  that  might  not  have  been  as  easily  applied  to  round 
as  to  pointed  arches,  and,  indeed,  it  would  certainly  have  been  so  applied 
had  any  of  the  round-arched  styles  arrived  at  maturity. 

Far  more  important  than  the  introduction  of  the  pointed  arch  was 
tlie  invention  of  painted  glass,  which  is  really  tie  important  formative 
principle  of  Gothic  architecture ;  so  much  so,  that  there  would  be  more 
meaning  in  the  name,  if  it  were  called  the  '-'■painted-glass  styled''  instead 
of  the  pointed-arch  style. 

In  all  the  earlier  attempts  at  a  pointed  style,  which  have  been 
alluded  to  in  the  preceding  pages,  the  pointed  arch  was  confined  to 
the  vaults,  pier  arches,  and  merely  constructive  parts,  while  the  deco- 
rative parts,  especially  the  windows  and  doorways,  were  still  round- 
headed.  The  windows  were  small,  and  at  considerable  distances,  a 
very  small  surface  of  openings  filled  with  plain  white  glass  being 
sufficient  to  admit  all  the  light  that  was  required  for  the  purposes  of 
the  building,  while  more  would  have  destroyed  the  effect  by  that 
garish  white  light  that  is  now  so  offensive  in  most  of  our  great  cathe- 
drals. As  soon,  however,  as  painted  glass  was  introduced,  the  state 
<jf  affairs  was  altered :  the  windows  were  first  enlarged  to  such  an 
extent  as  was  thought  possible  without  endangering  the  safety  of  the 
l)ainted  glass,  with  the  imperfect  means  of  supporting  it  then  known. ^ 
All  circular  plans  were  abandoned,  and  polygonal  apses  and  chapels 
of  the  chevet  introduced ;  and  lastly,  the  windows  being  made  to 
occupy  as  nearly  as  was  possible  the  whole  of  each  face  of  these  poly- 
gons, the  lines  of  the  upper  part  of  the  window  came  internally  into 
such  close  contact  with  the  lines  of  the  vault  that  it  was  almost  im- 
possible to  avoid  making  them  correspond  the  one  with  the  other. 
Thus  the  windows  took  the  pointed  form  already  adopted  for  con- 
structive reasons  in  the  vaults.  This  became  even  more  necessary 
when  the  fashion  was  introduced  of  grouping  two  or  three  simple 
windows  together  so  as  to  form  one;  and  when  those  portions 
of  wall  which  separated  these  windows  one  from  the  other  had 
become  attenuated  into  muUions,  and  the  upper  part  into  tracery. 


1  These  generally  consisted  of  strong  iron  bars,  wrought  into  patterns  in  accord- 
ance with  the  design  painted  on  the  glass. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  VIII. 


CENTRAL  FRANCE. 


527 


until  in  fact  the  entire  wall  was  taken  up  by  this  new  species  of 
decoration. 

So  far  as  internal  architecture  is  concerned,  the  invention  of  painted 
glass  was  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  ever  made.  The  painted  slabs 
of  the  Assyrian  palaces  are  comparatively  poor  attempts  at  the  same 
effect.  The  hieroglyphics  of  the  Egyptians  were  far  less  splendid  and 
complete  ;  nor  can  the  painted  temples  of  the  Greeks,  nor  the  mosaics 
and  frescoes  of  the  Italian  churches,  be  compared  with  the  brilliant 
effect  and  party-colored  glories  of  the  windows  of  a  perfect  Gothic 
cathedral,  where  the  whole  history  of  the  Bible  was  written  in  the 
hues  of  the  rainbow  by  the  earnest  hand  of  faith. 

Unfortunately  no  cathedral  retains  its  painted  glass  in  anything 
like  such  completeness ;  and  so  little  is  the  original  intention  of  the 
architects  understood,  that  we  are  content  to  admire  the  plain  surface 
of  white  glass,  and  to  consider  this  as  the  appropriate  filling  of  tra- 
ceried  window^s,  just  as  our  fathers  thought  that  whitewash  was  not 
only  the  purest,  but  the  best  mode  of  decorating  a  Gothic  interior. 
What  is  worse,  modern  architects,  when  building  Gothic  churches,  lill 
their  sides  with  large  openings  of  this  glass,  not  reflecting  that  a 
gallery  of  picture-frames  without  the  pictures  is  after  all  a  sorry  ex- 
hibition ;  but  so  completely  have  we  lost  all  real  feeling  for  the  art 
that  its  absurdity  does  not  strike  us  now. 

It  will,  however,  be  impossible  to  understand  what  follows,  unless 
we  bear  in  mind  that  all  windows  in  all  churches  erected  after  the 
middle  of  the  12th  century  were  at  least  intended  to  be  filled  with 
painted  glass,  and  that  the  principal  and  guiding  motive  in  all  the 
changes  subsequently  introduced  into  the  architecture  of  the  age  was 
to  obtain  the  greatest  possible  space  and  the  best-arranged  localities 
for  its  display. 

Freemasonry. 

The  institution  of  freemasonry  is  another  matter  on  which,  like  the 
invention  of  the  pointed  arch,  a  great  deal  more  has  been  said  than  the 
real  importance  of  the  subject  at  all  deserves.  Still  this  subject  has 
been  considered  so  all-important  that  it  is  impossible  to  pass  it  over 
here  without  some  reference,  if  only  to  explain  why  so  little  notice 
will  be  taken  of  its  influence,  or  of  the  important  names  which  are 
connected  with  it. 

Before  the  middle  of  the  12th  and  beginning  of  the  13th  century, 
it  is  generally  admitted  that  the  corporation  of  freemasons  was  not 
sufliciently  organized  to  have  had  much  influence  on  art.  At  that  time 
it  is  supposed  to  have  assumed  more  importance,  and  to  have  been 
the  principal  guiding  cause  in  the  great  change  that  then  took  place 
in  architecture.  Those  who  adopt  this  view,  forget  that  at  that  time 
all  trades  and  professions  were  organized  in  the  same  manner,  and 


528 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


that  the  guild  of  masons  differed  in  no  essential  particulars  from 
those  of  the  shoemakers  or  hatters,  the  tailors  or  vintners  —  all  had 
their  masters  and  past-masters,  their  wardens,  and  other  officers,  and 
were  recruited  from  a  body  of  apprentices,  who  were  forced  to  undergo 
years  of  probationary  servitude  before  they  were  admitted  to  practise 
their  arts. 

But  though  their  organization  was  the  same,  the  nature  of  their 
pursuits  forced  one  very  essential  distinction  upon  the  masons,  for 
inasmuch  as  all  the  usual  trades  were  local,  and  the  exercise  of  them 
confined  to  the  locality  where  the  tradesmen  resided,  the  builders 
were,  on  the  contrary,  forced  to  go  wherever  any  great  work  was  to 
be  executed. 

Thus  the  shoemakers,  tailors,  bakers,  and  others,  lived  among  their 
customers,  and  just  in  such  numbers  as  were  required  to  supply  thei^ 
usual  recurring  wants.  It  is  true  the  apprentices  travelled  to  learn 
their  profession  and  see  the  world  before  settling  down,  but  after  tiiat 
each  returned  to  his  native  town  or  village,  and  then  established  him- 
self among  his  friends  or  relatives,  where  he  was  known  by  all,  and 
where  he  at  once  took  his  station  without  further  trouble. 

With  the  mason  it  was  different:  his  work  never  came  to  him, 
nor  could  it  be  carried  on  in  his  own  house  :  he  was  always  forced 
to  go  to  his  work  ;•  and  when  any  great  church  or  building  was  to 
be  erected  in  any  town,  which  was  beyond  the  strength  of  the  ordi- 
nary tradesmen  of  the  place  to  undertake,  masons  were  sent  for, 
and  flocked  from  all  the  neighboring  towns  and  districts  to  obtain 
employment. 

At  a  time  when  writing  was  almost  unknown  among  the  laity, 
and  not  one  mason  in  a  thousand  could  either  read  or  write,  it  was  evi- 
dently essential  that  some  expedient  should  be  hit  upon  by  which  a 
mason  travelling  to  his  work  might  claim  the  assistance  and  hospitality 
of  his  brother  masons  on  tlie  road,  and  by  means  of  which  he  might 
take  his  rank  at  once,  on  reaching  the  lodge,  without  going  through 
tedious  exaipinations  or  giving  practical  proof  of  his  skill.  For  this 
purpose  a  set  of  secret  signs  was  invented,  which  enabled  all  masons  to 
recognize  one  another  as  such,  and  by  which  also  each  man  could  make 
known  his  grade  to  those  of  similar  rank,  without  further  trouble  than 
a  manual-sign,  or  the  utterance  of  some  recognized  pass-word.  Otlier 
trades  had  something  of  the  same  sort,  but  it  never  was  necessary 
for  them  to  carry  it  either  to  the  same  extent  nor  to  practise  it  so 
often  as  the  masons,  they  being  for  the  most  part  i-esident  in  the  same 
place  and  knowing  each  other  personally.  The  masons,  who  thus  from 
circumstances  became  more  completely  organized  than  other  trades, 
were  men  skilled  in  the  arts  of  hewing  and  setting  stones,  acquainted 
with  all  recent  inventions  and  improvements  connected  with  their 
profession,  and  capable  of  carrying  out  any  work  that  might  be  en- 


Bk.  11.  Cii.  A'lII. 


CENTRAL  FRANCE. 


529 


trusted  to  tliem,  though  tliey  never  seem  to  have  attempted  to  exercise 
their  calling  except  under  the  guidance  of  some  superior  personage, 
either  a  bishop  or  abbot,  or  an  accomplished  layman.  In  the  time  of 
which  we  are  speaking,  which  was  the  great  age  of  Gothic  art,  there  is 
no  instance  of  a  mason  of  any  grade  being  called  upon  to  furnish  the 
design  as  well  as  to  execute  the  work. 

It  may  appear  strange  to  us  in  the  19th  century,  among  whom  the 
great  majority  really  do  not  know  wdiat  true  art  means,  that  six  cen- 
turies ago  eminent  men,  not  specially  educated  to  the  ijrofession  of 
architecture,  and  qualified  only  by  talent  and  good  taste,  should  have 
been  capable  of  such  vast  and  excellent  designs ;  but  a  little  reflection 
wall  show  how  easy  it  is  to  design  when  art  is  in  the  right  path. 

If,  for  instance,  we  take  a  cathedral,  any  one  of  a  series  —  let  us  say 
of  Paris;  when  completed,  or  nearly  so,  it  was  easy  to  see  that  though 
an  improvement  on  those  which  preceded  it,  there  were  many  things 
in  its  construction  or  design  which  might  have  been  better.  The  side- 
aisles  were  too  low,  the  gallery  too  large,  the  clerestory  not  sufficiently 
spacious  for  the  display  of  the  painted  glass,  and  so  on.  Let  us  next 
•  suppose  the  Bishop  of  Amiens  at  that  period  determined  on  the  erec- 
tion of  his  cathedral.  It  was  easy  for  him  or  his  master-mason  to  make 
these  criticisms,  and  also  to  perceive  how  these  mistakes  might  be 
avoided ;  they  could  easily  see  where  wadth  might  be  spared,  especially 
in  the  nave,  and  wliere  a  little  additional  height  and  a  little  additional 
length  would  improve  the  effect  of  th^  whole.  During  the  progress  of 
the  Parisian  works  also  some  capitals  had  been  designed,  or  some  new 
form  of  piers  adopted,  which  were  im])rovements  on  preceding  examples, 
and  more  confidence  and  skill  would  also  have  been  derived  from  the 
experience  gained  in  the  construction  of  arches  and  vaults.  All  these, 
of  course,  would  be  adopted  in  the  new  cathedral;  and,  without  making 
drawings,  guided  only  by  general  directions  as  to  the  plan  and  dimen- 
sions, the  masons  might  proceed  with  the  work,  and,  introducing  all 
the  new^  improvements  as  it  progressed,  they  w^ould  inevitably  produce 
a  better  result  than  any  that  preceded  it,  without  any  especial  skill 
on  the  part  either  of  the  master-mason  or  his  employer. 

If  a  third  cathedral  were  to  be  built  after  this,  it  would,  of  course, 
contain  all  the  improvements  made  during  the  progress  of  the  second, 
and  all  the  corrections  which  its  results  suggested ;  and  thus,  while 
the  art  was  really  progressive,  it  required  neither  great  individual 
skill  nor  particular  aptitude  to  build  such  edifices  as  we  find. 

In  fine  arts  we  have  no  illustration  of  this  in  modern  times;  but  all 
our  useful  arts  advance  on  the  same  principles,  and  lead  consequently 
to  the  same  results.  In  ship-building,  for  instance,  as  mentioned  in 
the  Introduction  (page  45),  if  we  take  a  series  of  ships,  from  those  in 
which  Edward  III.  and  his  bold  w^arriors  crossed  the  channel  to  the 
great  line-of-battle  ships  now  lying  at  anchor  in  our  harbors,  we  find 
VOL.  I.— 34 


530 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  II. 


a  course  of  steady  and  uninterrupted  improvement  from  first  to  last. 
Some  new  metliod  is  tried  :  if  it  is  found  to  succeed,  it  is  retained  ;  if 
it  fails,  it  is  dropped.  Thus  the  general  tendency  constantly  leads  to 
progress  and  improvement.  And,  to  continue  the  comparison  a  little 
further,  this  progress  in  the  art  is  not  attributable  to  one  or  more 
eminent  naval  architects.  Great  and  important  discoveries  have  no 
doubt  been  made  by  individuals,  but  in  these  cases  we  may  generally 
assume  that,  the  state  of  science  being  ripe  for  such  advances,  had  the 
discovery  in  question-  not  been  made  by  one  man  it  soon  would  have 
occurred  to  some  other. 

The  fact  is,  that  in  a  useful  art  like  that  of  ship-building,  or  in  an 
art  combining  use  and  beauty  like  that  of  architecture  —  that  is,  when 
the  latter  is  a  real,  living,  national  art  —  the  progress  made  is  owing, 
not  to  the  commanding  abilities  of  particular  men,  but  to  the  united 
infiuence  of  the  whole  public.  An  intelligent  sailor  who  discusses  the 
good  and  bad  qualities  of  a  ship,  does  his  part  towards  the  advance- 
ment of  the  art  of  ship-building.  So  in  architecture,  the  merit  of  any 
one  admirable  building,  or  of  a  high  state  of  national  art,  is  not  due 
to  one  or  to  a  few  master  minds,  but  to  the  aggregation  of  experience, 
the  mass  of  intellectual  exertion,  which  alone  can  achieve  any  practi- 
cally great  result.  Whenever  we  see  any  work  of  man  truly  w^orthy 
of  admiration,  we  may  be  quite  sure  that  the  credit  of  it  is  not  due  to 
an  individual,  but  to  thousands  working  together  through  a  long  series 
of  years. 

Tlie  pointed  Gothic  architecture  of  Germany  furnishes  a  negative 
illustration  of  the  view  which  we  have  taken  of  the  conditions  neces- 
sary for  great  architectural  excellence.  There  the  style  was  not 
native,  but  introduced  from  France.  French  masons  were  employed, 
who  executed  their  work  with  the  utmost  precision,  and  with  a  per- 
fection of  masonic  skill  scarcely  to  be  found  in  France  itself.  But  in 
all  the  higher  elements  of  beauty,  the  German  pointed  Gothic  cathe- 
drals are  immeasurably  inferior  to  the  French.  They  are  no  longer 
the  exj^ression  of  the  devotional  feelings  of  the  clergy  and  people,  and 
are  totally  devoid  of  the  highest  order  of  architectural  beauty. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that  the  very  pre-eminence  of  the  great 
masonic  lodges  of  Germany  in  the  14th  century  destroyed  the  art. 
When  freemasonry  became  so  powerful  as  to  usurp  to  itself  the 
designing  as  well  as  the  execution  of  churches  and  other  buildings, 
there  was  an  end  of  true  art,  though  accompanied  by  the  production 
of  some  of  the  most  wonderful  specimens  of  stone-cutting  and  of  con- 
structive skill  that  were  ever  produced.  This,  however,  is  "  building," 
not  architecture  ;  and  though  it  may  excite  the  admiration  of  the 
vulgar,  it  never  will  touch  the  feelings  of  the  true  artist  or  the  man 
of  taste. 

This  decline  of  true  art  had  nowhere  shown  itself  during  the  13th 


Bk.  II  Cn.  YIIL 


CENTRAL  FRANCE. 


531 


century,  witli  which  we  are  concerned  at  present.  Then  architecture 
was  truly  progressive :  every  man  and  every  class  in  the  country  lent 
their  aid,  each  in  his  own  department,  and  all  worked  together  to  pro- 
duce those  wonderful  buildings  which  still  excite  our  admiration.  The 
masons  performed  their  parts,  and  it  was  an  important  one  ;  but  neither 
to  them  nor  to  their  employers,  such  as  the  Abbe  Suger,  Maurice  de 
Sully,  Robert  de  Lusarches,  or  Fulbert  of  Chartres,  is  the  whole  merit 
to  be  ascribed,  but  to  all  classes  of  the  French  nation,  carrying  on 
steadily  a  combined  movement  towards'  a  well-defined  end. 

In  the  following  pages,  therefore,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  recur 
to  the  freemasons  nor  their  masters  —  at  least  not  more  than  incident- 
ally —  till  we  come  to  Germany.  Nor  will  it  be  necessary  to  attempt 
to  define  who  was  the  architect  of  any  particular  building.  The 
names  usually  fixed  upon  by  antiquaries  after  so  much  search  are 
merely  those  of  the  master-masons  or  foremen  of  the  works,  who  had 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  main  designs  of  the  buildings.  The 
simple  fact  that  all  the  churches  of  any  particular  age  are  so  like  to 
one  another,  both  in  plan  and  detail,  and  so  nearly  equal  in  merit,  is 
alone  sufficient  to  prove  how  little  the  individual  had  to  do  with  their 
design,  and  how  much  was  due  to  the  age  and  the  progress  the  style 
had  achieved  at  that  time.  This,  too,  has  always  proved  to  be  the 
case,  not  only  in  Europe,  but  in  every  corner  of  the  world,  and  in  every 
age  when  architecture  has  been  a  true  and  living  art. 


532 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  II. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATHEDRALS. 

CONTENTS. 

Paris  —  Chartres  —  Eheims  —  Amiens  —  Other  Cathedrals  —  Later  Style  — 
St.  Ouen's,  Rouen. 

THE  great  difficulty  m  attempting  to  describe  the  architecture  of 
France  during  the  glorious  period  of  the  13th  century  is  really 
tlie  emharras  de  richesse.  There  are  even  now  some  thirty  or  forty 
cathedrals  of  the  first  class  in  France,  all  owing  their  magnificence 
to  this  great  age.  Some  of  these,  it  is  true,  were  commenced  even 
early  in  the  12th,  and  many  were  not  completed  till  after  the  14th 
century;  but  all  their  principal  features,  as  well  as  all  their  more 
important  beauties  belong  to  the  18th  century,  which,  as  a  building 
e])och,  is  perliaps  the  most  brilliant  in  the  whole  history  of  architect- 
ure. Not  even  the  gi-eat  Pharaonic  age  in  Egypt,  the  age  of  Pericles 
in  Greece,  nor  the  great  period  of  the  Roman  Empire,  will  bear  com- 
parison with  the  13th  century  in  Europe,  whether  we  look  to  the 
extent  of  the  buildings  executed,  their  wonderful  variety  and  con- 
structive elegance,  the  daring  imagination  that  conceived  them,  or 
the  power  of  poetry  and  of  lofty  religious  feelings  that  is  expressed 
in  every  feature  and  in  every  part  of  them. 

During  the  previous  age  almost  all  the  greater  ecclesiastical 
buildings  were  abbeys,  or  belonged  exclusively  to  monastic  establish- 
ments—  were,  in  fact,  the  sole  property,  and  built  only  for  the  use,  of 
the  clergy,  though  the  laity,  it  is  true,  were  admitted  to  them,  but 
only  on  sufferance.  They  had  no  right  to  be  there,  and  took  no  part 
in  the  ceremonies  ])erformed.  In  the  13th  century,  however,  almost 
all  the  great  buildings  were  cathedrals,  in  the  erection  of  which  the 
laity  bore  the  greater  part  of  the  expense,  and  shared,  in  at  least  an 
equal  degree,  in  their  ])roperty  and  purposes.  In  a  subsequent  age 
the  parochial  system  went  far  to  supersede  even  the  cathedral,  the 
people's  church  taking  almost  entirely  the  place  of  the  ])riest's  church, 
a  step  which  was  subsequently  carried  to  its  utmost  length  by  the 
Reformation.  Our  present  subject  requires  us  to  fix  our  attention  on 
that  stage  of  this  great  movement  which  gave  rise  to  the  building  of 
the  principal  cathedrals  throughout  Europe  from  the  12th  to  the  15th 
century. 

The  transition  from  the  round  Gothic  to  the  true  pointed  Gothic 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATHEDRALS. 


533 


Style  in  the  centre  of  France  took  place  with  the  revival  of  the 
national  power  under  the  guidance  of  the  great  Abbe  Suger,  about 
the  year  1144.  In  England  it  hardly  appeared  till  the  rebuilding 
of  Canterbury  Cathedral,  under  the  guidance  of  a  French  architect, 
A.D.  1175;  and  in  Germany  it  is  not  found  till,  at  all  events,  the 
beginning  of  the  13th  century,  and  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  taken 
firm  root  in  that  country  till  a  century  at  least  after  it  had  been 
fairly  established  in  France. 

The  development  of  particular  features  will  be  pointed  out  as 
we  proceed ;  but  no  attempt  will  be  made  to  arrange  the  cathedrals 
nnd  great  buildings  in  chronological  order.  Such  an  attempt  would 
merely  lead  to  confusion,  as  most  of  them  took  a  century  at  least  to 
erect  —  many  of  them  two. 

In  France,  as  in  England,  there  is  no  one  great  typical  building 
to  which  we  can  refer  as  a  standard  of  perfection  —  no  Hypostyle 
Hall  or  Parthenon  which  combines  in  itself  all  the  excellencies  of  the 
style  adopted ;  and  we  are  forced,  therefore  to  cull  from  a  number  of 
examples  materials  for  the  composition,  even  in  imagination,  of  a 
perfect  whole.  Germany  has  in  this  respect  been  more  fortunate, 
possessing  in  Cologne  Cathedral  an  edifice  combining  all  the  beauties 
ever  attempted  to  be  produced  in  pointed  Gothic  in  that  country. 
But  even  this  is  only  an  imitation  of  French  cathedrals,  erected  by 
persons  who  admired  and  understood  the  details  of  the  style,  but 
were  incapable  of  appreciating  its  higher  principles.  The  great 
cathedrals  of  Rheims,  Chartres,  and  Amiens  are  all  early  examples 
of  the  style,  and  as  they  were  erected  nearly  simultaneously,  none 
of  their  architects  were  able  to  profit  by  the  experience  obtained  in 
the  others ;  they  are  consequently  all  more  or  less  experiments  in  a 
new  and  untried  style.  The  principal  parts  of  the  church  of  St. 
Ouen  at  Rouen,  on  the  contrary,  are  of  somewhat  too  late  a  date ;  and 
beautiful  though  it  is,  masonic  perfection  was  then  coming  to  be  more 
considered  than  the  expression  either  of  poetry  or  of  power. 

Still  in  Rheims  Cathedral  we  have  a  building  possessing  so  many 
of  the  perfections  and  characteristic  beauties  of  the  art  that  it  may 
almost  serve  as  a  type  of  the  earlier  style,  as  St.  Ouen  may  of  the 
later;  and  though  we  may  regret  the  absence  of  the  intermediate 
steps,  except  in  such  fragments  as  the  Sainte  Chapelle  at  Paris,  still 
between  them  we  may  obtain  a  tolerably  clear  idea  of  the  form  to 
w^hich  French  art  aspired  during  its  most  flourishing  age. 

To  avoid  as  far  as  may  be  possible  the  tediousness  of  repetition 
necessary  if  the  attempt  were  made  to  describe  each  building  sepa- 
rately, and  at  the  same  time  not  to  fall  into  the  confusion  that  must 
result  from  grouping  the  whole  together,  the  most  expedient  mode 
will,  perhaps,  be  to  describe  first  the  four  great  typical  cathedrals  of 
Paris,  Chartres,  Rheims,  and  Amiens,  and  then  to  point  out  briefly  tli« 


534 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


principal  resemblances  and  differences  between  these  and  the  other 
cathedrals  of  France. 

Of  these  four,  that  of  Paris  is  the  oldest ;  the  foundation-stone 
having  been  laid  1163,  and  the  work  carried  on  with  such  activity  by 
the  bishop,  Maurice  de  Sully,  that  the  high  altar  w^as  dedicated  1182, 
the  interior  completed  1208,  and  the  west  front  finished  about  the 
year  1214. 

The  history  of  the  cathedral  of  Chartres  (Woodcut  No.  389),  is 
not  so  easily  traced.     An  important  church  was  erected  there  by 

Bishop  Fulbert  in  the  beginning  of 
the  11th  century,  of  which  building 
scarcely  anything  now  remains  but 
the  piers  of  the  Avestern  doors. 

The  building  of  the  present  church 
seems  to  have  been  commenced  about 
a  century  after  the  completion  of  the 
older  building,  for  the  great  western 
towers  were  in  progress  in  the  year 
1145,  and  tlie  new  choir  must  have 
been  commenced  very  shortly  after- 
wards. Indeed,  the  greater  part  of 
the  building  belongs  to  the  latter  half 
of  the  12th  century,  or  very  early  in 
tlie  13th ;  but  it  was  not  completed 
till  the  year  1260. 

The  cathedral  of  liheims  (Wood- 
cut No.  390)  was  commenced  in  the 
vear  1211,  immediately  after  a  fire 
wliich  consumed  the  preceding  build- 
ing, and  under  the  auspices  of  Arch- 
bishop Alberic  de  Humbert,  —  Robert 
deCouci  acting  as  trustee  on  the  part 
of  the  laity.  It  was  so  far  com])leted 
in  all  essential  parts  as  to  be  dedicated 
in  1241. 

Amiens  Cathedral  (Woodcut  No. 
391)  was  commenced  in  1220,  and  com- 
pleted in  1257;  but  being  partially 
destroyed  by  fire  the  year  after- 
wards, the  clerestory  and  all  the 
upper  parts  of  the  church  were  rebuilt.  The  whole  appears  to 
have  been  completed,  nearly  as  we  now  find  it,  about  the  year  1272. 
From  this  period  to  the  building  of  the  Choir  of  St.  Ouen,  at  Rouen, 
1318-1339,  there  is  a  remarkable  deficiency  of  great  examples  in 
France.    The  intermediate  space  is  very  imperfectly  filled  by  the 


386.  Plan  of  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame, 
Paris.  (From  Cbapuy,  "  Moyen-Age 
Mouumeutal.")   Scale'^100  ft.  to  1  in. 


I3k.  II.  Cn.  IX. 


FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATIIEDRAL8. 


5o5 


examples  of  St.  Urbaiii  at  Troyes,  St.  Benigne  at  Dijon,  and  a  few 
others.  These  are  just  sufficient  to  show  how  exquisite  the  style 
then  was,  and  what  we  have  lost  by 
almost  all  the  cathedrals  of  France  hav- 
ing been  commenced  simultaneously, 
and  none  being  left  in  which  the  expe- 
rience of  their  predecessors  could  be 
made  available. 

Though  the  plans  of  these  cathe- 
drals differ  to  some  extent,  their  dimen- 
sions are  very  nearly  the  same ;  that 
nt  — 

Paris,  covering  about     .    .    64,108  feet. 

Chartres   68,260  " 

Kheims  67,475  " 

Amiens   71,208  " 

These  dimensions,  though  inferior  to 
those  of  Cologne,  Milan,  Seville,  and 
some  other  exceptional  buildings,  are 

still  as  lar^e  as  those   of  any  erected    387.   Section  of  side  Aisles,  Cathedral 
^  of  Pans.  (From  Gailhabaud,  "Archi- 

in  the  Middle  Ag^es. 


tecture.")   Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


The  cathedral  of  Paris  was  designed 
at  a  time  when  the  architects  had  not  obtained  that  confidence  in 
their  own  skill  which  made  them  afterwards  complete  masters  of  the 
constructive  difficulties  of  the  design.  As 
^hown  in  the  plan  (Woodcut  No.  386),  the 
points  of  support  are  far  more  numerous  and 
are  placed  nearer  to  one  another  than  is  usu- 
ally the  case ;  and  as  may  be  seen  from  the 
section,  instead  of  two  tall  stories,  the  height 
is  divided  into  three,  and  made  up,  if  I  may 
so  express  it,  of  a  series  of  cells  built  over  and 
beside  each,  so  as  to  obtain  immense  strength 
with  a  slight  expenditure  of  materials. 

It  must  at  the  same  time  be  confessed 
that  this  result  was  obtained  with  a  con- 
siderable sacrifice  of  grandeur  and  sim])licity 
of  effect.  Even  before  the  building  was  com- 
pleted, the  architects  seem  to  have  become 
aware  of  these  defects ;  and  as  is  shown  in 
the  woodcut  (No.  388),  the  simple  undivided 
windows  of  the  clerestory  were  cut  down  so 


Original  I  Improved 

Design,  |  Design. 

388.   External  Elevation, 
as  to  give  them  the  greatest  possible  height.     Cathedral  of  Paris.  (From 

and  the  roof  of  the  upper  gallery  made  flat 
to  admit  of  this.     Subsequently  larger  windows  were  introduced 


Gailhabaud.) 


536 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE 


Part  II. 


between  the  buttresses,  witli  a  view  to  obtaining  fewer  and  larger 
parts,  and  also  of  course  to  admit  of  larger  surfaces  for  painted  glass. 
With  all  these  improvements  the  cathedral  has  not  internally  the 
same  grandeur  as  the  other  three,  though  externally  there  is  a  very 
noble  simplicity  of  outline  and  appearance  of  solidity  in  the  whole 
design.    Internally  it  still  i-etains,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  plan,  the 

hexapartite  arrange- 
ment in  its  vaults 
over  the  central 
aisle,  and  the  quadri- 
partite in  the  side- 
aisles  only.  This 
causes  the  central 
vault  to  overpower 
those  on  each  side, 
and  makes  not  only 
the  whole  church, 
but  all  the  parts, 
look  much  smaller 
would  have 
the  case  had 
oof  been  cut 
smaller  divi- 
sions, as  was  always 
subsequently  the 
case. 

At  Chartres  most 
of  thesfc  defects  were 
avoided ;  there  is 
there  a  simplicity  of 
design  and  a  grand- 
eur of  conception 
seldom  surpassed. 
The  great  defect  of 
proportion  in  that 
building  arises  from 
the  circumstance 
that  the  architect 
included  the  three 
aisles  of  the  old 
church  in  the  central  aisle  of  the  present  one.  At  that  time  the 
architects  had  not  attained  that  daring  perfection  of  execution  which 
afterwards  enabled  them  to  carry  the  vaults  to  so  astonishing  a  height. 
At  Chartres  the  proportion  of  width  to  height  is  nearly  as  1  to 
2,  the  breadth  of  the  central  nave  being  nearly  50  ft.,  and  the 


389. 


Plau  of  Chartres  Cathedral.    (From  Chapuy.) 
100  ft.  to  1  in. 


Scale 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATHEDRALS. 


537 


height  only  106.  With  the  great  length  of  such  buildings  found  in 
England  such  proportions  were  tolerable,  but  in  the  shorter  French 
cathedrals  it  gives  an  appearance  of  depression  which  is  far  from 
being  pleasing;  and,  as  the  painted  glass  has  been  almost  entirely 
removed  from  the  nave,  a  cold  glare  now  pervades  the  whole,  which 
renders  it  extremely  difficult  to  form  an  opinion  of  the  original 
effect. 


300.    Plan  of  Rheims  Cathedral.  391.    Plan  of  Amiens  CathedraL 

Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in.  (From  Chapuy.)  Scale  100  ft.  to  1  iu. 


Most  of  those  defects  were  avoided  by  the  builders  of  the  cathedral 
at  Rheims,  and  nothing  can  exceed  the  simple  beauty  and  perfection 
of  the  arrangement  of  the  plan,  as  well  as  of  the  general  harmony  of 
all  the  parts.  The  proportion,  both  in  width  and  height,  of  the  side- 
aisles  to  the  central  nave,  and  the  absence  of  side  chapels  and  of  any 
subsequent  additions,  render  the  nave  one  of  the  most  perfect  in. 


538 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  II. 


France.  The  mode  in  wliicli  tlie  cliurcli  ex])an(ls  as  yon  approacli 
the  choir,  and  the  oenoral  arrangement  of  the  eastern  part  as  shown 
in  the  plan  (Woodcut  Xo.  390),  ai-e  equally  excellent,  and  are  sur- 
passed by  no  building  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  piers  are  perhaps 
a  little  heav}^,  and  their  capitals  want  simplicity ;  the  triforium  is  if 
anything  too  plain  ;  and  at  the  present  day  the  effect  of  light  in  the 
church  is  in  one  respect  reversed,  inasmncli  as  the  clerestory  retains 
its  painted  glass,  wliicli  in  the  side-aisles  has  been  almost  totally 


3'J2.    View  of  the  Fagade  of  the  Cathedral  at  Paris.    (From  Chapuy.) 


destroyed,  making  the  building  appear  as  though  lighted  from  below 
—  an  arrangement  highly  destructive  of  architectural  beauty.  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  it  far  surpasses  those  buildings  which  preceded 
it,  and  is  only  equalled  by  Amiens  and  those  completed  afterwards. 
Their  superiority,  however,  arose  from  the  introduction  just  at  the  time 
of  their  erection  of  complicated  window-tracery,  enabling  the  builders  to 
dispense  almost  wholly  with  solid  walls,  and  to  make  their  clei*estories 
at  least  one  blaze  of  gorgeous  coloring.     By  the  improvement  in 


Bk.  II.  Cii.  IX. 


FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATHEDRALS. 


539 


tracery  tlien  introduced,  they  were  able  to  dispose  the  glass  in  the 
most  beautiful  forms,  and  framed  in  stone,  so  as  to  render  it,  notwith- 
standing its  extent,  still  an  integral  part  of  the  whole  building.  In 
this  respect  the  great  height  of  the  clerestory  at  Amiens,  and  its 
exceeding  lightness,  give  it  an  immense  advantage  over  the  preceding 


churches,  although  this  is  gained  at  the  sacrifice,  to  a  certain  extent, 
of  the  sober  and  simple  majesty  of  the  earlier  examples.  There  is, 
nevertheless,  so  much  beauty  and  so  much  poetry  in  the  whole  effect, 
that  it  is  scarcely  fair  to  apply  the  cold  rules  of  criticism  to  so  fanciful 
and  fascinating  a  creation. 

Externally  the  same  progress  is  observable  in  these  four  cathedrals 
as  in  their  interior  arrangements.    The  fayade  of  the  cathedral  at 


540 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Paris  (Woodcut  No.  392)  is  simple  in  its  outline,  and  bold  and  ma- 
jestic in  all  its  parts,  and  though,  perhaps,  a  little  open  to  the  charge 
of  heaviness,  it  is  admirably  adapted  to  its  situation,  and  both  in 
design  and  proportion  fits  admirably  to  the  church  to  which  it  is 
attached.  Tlie  flanks,  too,  of  the  building,  as  originally  designed, 
must  have  been  singularly  beautiful,  for,  though  sadly  disfigured 
by  the  insertion  of  the  chapels,  which  obliterate  the  buttresses  and 
deprive  it  of  that  light  and  shade  so  indispensable  to  architectural 
effect,  there  yet  remains  a  simplicity  of  outline,  and  an  elegance  in 
the  whole  form  of  the  building,  that  has  not  often  been  excelled  in 
Gothic  structures. 

The  lower  part  of  the  facade  at  Chartres  (Woodcut  No.  393)  is 
older  than  that  of  Paris,  and  so  plain  (it  miglit  almost  be  called 
rude)  as  hardly  to  admit  of  comparison  with  it ;  but  its  two  spires,  of 
different  ages,  are  unsurpassed  in  France.  Even  in  the  southern  or 
older  of  the  two,  which  was  probably  finished  in  the  12th  century,  we 
find  all  the  elements  which  were  so  fully  develoi)ed  in  Germany  and 
elsewhere  in  the  following  centuries.  The  change  from  the  square  to 
the  octagon,  and  from  the  perpendicular  part  to  the  sloping  sides  of 
the  spire,  are  managed  with  the  most  perfect  art;  and  were  not  the 
effect  it  produces  destroyed  by  the  elaborate  richness  of  the  other 
spire,  it  would  be  considered  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  its  class. 
The  new  or  northern  spire  was  erected  by  Jean  Texier  between  the 
years  1507  and  1514,  and,  notwithstanding  the  lateness  of  its  date,  it 
must  be  considered  as  on  the  whole  the  most  beautifully  designed 
spire  on  the  continent  of  Europe;  and,  though  not  equal  in  height,  ^ 
certainly  far  surpassing  in  elegance  of  outline  and  appropriateness  of 
design  those  at  Strasburg,  Vienna,  or  even  at  Antwerp.  If  it  has  rivals 
it  is  that  at  Friburg,  or  those  designed  for  the  cathedral  at  Cologne ; 
but  were  its  details  of  the  same  date,  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  it 
would  be  considered  the  finest  spire  of  the  three. 

The  transepts  at  Chartres  have  more  projection  than  those  of 
Paris,  and  were  originally  designed  with  two  towers  to  each,  and 
tM'o  others  were  placed  one  on  each  side  of  the  choir ;  so  that  the 
cathedral  would  have  had  eight  towers  altogether  if  completed ;  but 
none  except  the  western  two  have  been  carried  higher  than  the 
springing  of  the  roof;  and  though  they  serve  to  vary  the  outline, 
they  do  not  relieve,  to  the  extent  they  might  have  done,  the  heavy 
massiveness  of  the  roof.  In  other  respects  the  external  beauty  of  the 
cathedral  is  somewhat  injured  by  the  extreme  heaviness  of  the  flying 
buttresses,  which  were  deemed  necessary  to  resist  the  thrust  of  the 
enormous  vault  of  the  central  nave;  and,  though  each  is  in  itself 
a  massive  and  beautiful  object,  they  crowd  the  clerestory  to  an 


^  The  height  of  the  old  spire  is  342  ft.  6  in.  with  the  cross ;  of  the  new,  371  ft. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATHEDRALS. 


541 


incQiivenient  extent;  the  effect  of  which  is  also  somewhat  injured 
by  the  imperfect  tracery  of  the  windows,  each  of  which  more 
resembles  separate  openings  grouped  together  than  one  grand  and 
simple  window. 

The  progress  that  took  place  between  this  building  and  that  at 
Rheims  is  more  remarkable  on  the  exterior  than  even  in  the  interior. 
The  fa9ade  of  that  church,  though  small  as  compared  with  some 
others,  was  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  structure  produced  during 
the  Middle  Ages ;  and,  though  it  is  difficult  to  institute  a  rigorous 
comparison  between  things  so  dissimilar,  there  is  perhaps  no  fa9ade,, 
either  of  ancient  or  of  modern  times,  that  sur- 
passes it  in  beauty  of  proportion  and  details,  or 
in  fitness  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  de- 
signed. Nothing  can  exceed  the  majesty  of  its 
deeply-recessed  trij^le  ])ortals,  the  beauty  of  the  rose- 
window  that  surmounts 
them,  or  the  elegance  of 
the  gallery  that  completes 
the  fa9ade  and  serves  as 
a  basement  to  the  light 
and  graceful  towers  that 
crown  the  composition. 
These  were  designed  to 
carry  spires,  no  doubt  as 
elegant  and  appro]3riate  as 
themselves ;  but  this  part 
of  the  design  was  never 
completed.  The  beautiful 
range  of  buttresses  which 
adorn  the  flanks  of  the 
building  are  also  perhaps 
the    most    beautiful  in 

FT  ,1      395.  BvittressesatRlieiius. 

ranee,    and    carry    the  (FromChapuy.) 

design  of  the  facade  back 

to  the  transepts.    These  are  late  and  less  ornate  than  the  western. 

front,  but  are  still  singularly  beautiful,  though  wanting  the  two 

towers  designed  to  complete  them.     On  the  intersection  of  the 

nave  with  the  transepts  thei-e  rose  at  one  time  a  spire  of  wood, 

probably  as  high  as  the  intended  spires  of  the  western  towers, 

and  one  still  crowns  the  ridge  of  the  chevet,  rising  to  half  the 

height  above  the  roof  that  the  central  one  was  intended  to  attain. 

Were  these  all  complete,  we  should  have  the  beau  ideal  externally 

of  a  French  cathedral,  with  one  central  and  two  western  spires,. 

and  four  towers  at  the  ends  of  the  transepts.    All  these  perhaps 

never  were  fully  completed  in  any  instance,  though  the  rudiments 


394.   Buttress  at  Chartres. 
(From  Batissier,  "  Histoire  de 
I'Art.")  . 


542 


FRENCH 


ARCIHTECTUIIE. 


Paut  II. 


of  tlie  arrangement  are  found  in  almost  all  the  principal  French 
cathedrals.  In  some,  as  for  instance  at  Rouen,  it  was  carried 
out  in  number,  though  at  such  different  periods  and  of  sucl) 
varied  design  as  to  destroy  that  unity  of  effect  essential  to  perfect 
beauty. 

The  external  effect  of  Amiens  may  be  taken  rather  as  an  example 
of  the  defects  of  the  general  design  of  French  cathedrals  than  as  an 
illustration  of  tlieir  beauties.  The  western  facade  presents  the  same 
general  features  as  those  of  Paris  and  Rheims,  but  the  towers  are  so 
small  in  proportion  to  the  immense  building  behind  as  to  look  mean 
and  insignificant,  while  all  the  parts  are  so  badly  put  together  as  to 
destroy  in  a  gi'eat  measure  the  effect  they  were  designed  to  produce. 
The  northern  tower  is  223  ft.  high,  the  southern  205  ;  both  therefore 
are  higher  than  those  at  York,  but  instead  of  being  appropriate  and 
l)eautiful  adjuncts  to  the  building  they  are  attached  to,  they  only 
serve  in  this  instance  to  exaggerate  the  gigantic  incubus  of  a  roof, 
208  ft.  in  height,  which  overpowers  the  building  it  is  meant  to 
adorn. 

Tlie  same  is  the  case  with  the  central  spire,  which,  though  higher 
than  that  at  Salisbury,  being  422  ft.  high  £i-om  the  pavement,  is 
reduced  from  the  same  cause  to  comparative  insignificance,  and  is 
utterly  unequal  to  the  purjiose  of  relieving  tlie  heaviness  of  outline 
for  which  this  cathedral  is  remarkable.  Tlie  filling  up  of  the  spaces 
between  the  buttresses  of  the  nave  with  chapels  prevents  the  tran- 
septs from  having  their  full  value,  and  gives  an  unpleasing  fulness  and 
flatness  to  the  entire  design. 

All  French  cathedrals  are  more  or  less  open  to  these  objections, 
and  are  deficient  in  consequence  of  that  exquisite  variety  of  outline 
and  i^lay  of  light  and  shade  for  which  the  English  examples  are  so 
remarkable;  but  it  still  remains  a  question  how  iar  the  internal 
loftiness  and  the  glory  of  their  painted  glass  compensate  for  these 
external  defects.  The  truth,  perhaps,  may  be  found  in  a  mean 
between  the  two  extremes,  which  has  not  unfortunately  been  attained 
in  any  one  exami)le  ;  and  this  arises  mainly  from,  the  fact  that, 
besides  the  effect  of  mass  or  beauty  of  outline,  there  were  many 
minor  considerations  of  use  or  beauty  that  governed  the  design.  We 
must  consequently  look  closely  at  the  details,  and  restore,  in  imagina- 
tion at  least,  the  building  in  all  its  completeness,  before  we  can 
discover  how  far  the  general  effect  was  necessarily  sacrificed  for 
l)articular  purposes. 

What  painted  glass  was  to  the  interior  of  a  French  cathedral, 
sculpture  was  to  the  exterior.  Almost  all  the  arrangements  of  tlie 
facade  were  modified  mainly  to  admit  of  its  display  to  the  greatest 
possible  extent.    The  three  great  cavernous  porches  of  the  lower 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATHEDRALS. 


543 


part  would  be  ugly  and  unmeaning  in  the  highest  degree  without  the 
sculptures  that  adorn  them.  The  galleries  above  are  mere  ranges  of 
niclies,  as  unmeaning  without  their  statues  as  the  great  mullioned 
windows  without  their  "  storied  panes."  In  such  lateral  porches,  too. 
as  those  for  instance  at  Chartres,  the  architecture  is  wholly  subordinate 
to  the  sculpture ;  and  in  a  perfect  cathedral  of  the  13th  century  the 
buttresses,  pinnacles,  even  the  gargoyles,  every  "coin  of  vantage," 
tells  its  tale  by  some  image  or  representation  of  some  living  thing, 
giving  meaning  and  animation  to  the  whole.  The  cathedral  thus 
became  an  immense  collection  of  sculptures,  containing  not  only  the 
whole  history  of  the  world  as  then  known  and  understood,  but  also  of 
an  immense  number  of  objects  representing  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  Thus  the  great  cathedrals  of  Chartres  and  Rheims  even 
now  retain  some  5,000  figures,  scattered  about  or  grouped  together  in 
various  parts,  beginning  with  the  history  of  the  creation  of  the  world 
and  all  the  wondrous  incidents  of  the  1st  chapter  of  Genesis,  and 
thence  continuing  the  history  through  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. In  these  sculptures  the  story  of  the  redemption  of  mankind 
is  told,  as  set  forth  in  the  New,  with  a  distinctness,  and  at  the  same 
time  with  an  earnestness,  almost  impossible  to  surpass.  On  the 
other  hand,  ranges  of  statues  of  kings  of  France  and  other  j:>opular 
potentates  carry  on  the  thread  of  j^rofane  history  to  the  period  of  the 
erection  of  the  cathedral  itself.  In  addition  to  these  we  have,  inter- 
si)ersed  with  them,  a  whole  system  of  moral  philosoj^hy,  as  illustrated 
by  the  virtues  and  the  vices,  each  represenied  by  an  appropriate  sym- 
bol, and  the  j-eward  or  punishment  its  invariable  accompaniment. 
In  other  parts  are  shown  all  the  arts  of  peace,  every  process  of 
husbandry  in  its  appropriate  season,  and  each  manufacture  or  handi- 
craft in  all  its  principal  forms.  Over  all  these  are  seen  the  heavenly 
hosts,  with  saints,  angels,  and  archangels.  All  this  is  so  harmoniously 
contrived  and  so  beautifully  expressed,  that  it  becomes  a  question 
even  now  whether  the  sculpture  of  these  cathedrals  does  not  excel  the 
architecture. 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  when  books  were  rare,  and  those  who  could 
read  them  rarer  still,  this  sculpture  was  certainly  most  valuable  as  a 
means  of  jwpular  education  ;  but,  as  Victor  Hugo  beautifully  expresses 
it,  "  Ceci  tuera  cela  :  le  livre  tuera  I'Eglise."  The  printing-press  has 
rendered  all  this  of  little  value  to  the  present  generation,  and  it  is 
only  through  the  eyes  of  the  artist  or  the  antiquary  that  we  can  even 
dimly  appreciate  what  was  actual  instruction  to  the  less  educated 
citizens  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  medium  through  which  they 
learned  the  history  of  the  world,  or  heard  the  glad  tidings  of 
salvation  conveyed  from  God  to  man.  All  this  few,  if  any,  can 
fully  enter  into  now;  but  unless  it  is  felt  to  at  least  some  extent, 
it  is  impossible  these  wonderful  buildings  can  ever  be  appreciated. 


544 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  ir. 


In  the  Middle  Ages,  the  sculpture,  the  painting,  the  music  of  the 
people  were  all  found  in  the  cathedrals,  and  there  only.  Add  to 
this  their  ceremonies,  their  sanctity,  especially  that  conferred  by  the 
relics  of  saints  and  martyrs  which  they  contained  —  all  these  things 

made  these  buildings  all  in  all  to  those 
who  erected  and  to  those  who  wor- 
ship23ed  in  them. 

The  cathedral  of  Beauvais  is  gene^ 
rally  mentioned  in  conjunction  with 
that  of  Amiens,  and  justly  so,  not  only 
in  consequence  of  its  local  proximity, 
and  from  its  being  so  near  it  in  date, 
but  also  from  a  general  similarity  in 
style.  Beauvais  is  in  fact  an  exaggera- 
tion of  Amiens,  and  shows  defects  of 
design  more  to  be  expected  in  Germany 
than  in  France.  It  was  commenced 
five  years  later  than  Amiens,  or  in  1225, 
and  the  works  were  vigorously  pursued 
between  the  years  1249  and  1267, 
though  the  dedication  did  not  take 
place  till  1272.  The  architects,  in 
their  rivalry  of  their  great  neighbor, 
seem "  to  have  attempted  more  than 
they  had  skill  to  perform,  for  the 
roof  fell  in  in  1284,  and  when  re- 
built, additional  strength  was  given 
by  the  insertion  of  another  pier  be- 
tween every  two  of  those  in  the  old 
design,  which  served  to  exaggerate 
the  apparent  height  of  the  pier-arches. 
Emboldened  by  this,  they  seem  to 
have  determined  to  carry  the  clerestory 
to  the  unprecedented  height  of  150 
ft.,  or  about  three  times  the  width, 
the  centre  of  one 
pier  to  that  of  the  next.  This,  with 
a  very  long  nave,  a  very  acute  vault,  wide  pier-spaces,  and  bold 
massive  supports,  might  have  been  not  only  tolerable,  but  sublime  ; 
but  as  this  cathedral  wants  all  these  qualities,  the  effect  now 
is  only  that  of  a  most  extraordinary  masonic  tour  de  force^  which ^ 
though  productive  of  considerable  astonishment  among  the  gap 
ing  vulgar,  is  defective  in  taste,  and  by  no  means  pleasin 
desiixn. 


Bay  of  Nave  of  Beauvais  Cathe-  nicasurino"  from 
dral.   No  scale. 


m 


Ek.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATHEDRALS. 


545 


These  defects,  moreover,  were  considerably  increased  by  the  late 
period  at  whith  the  greater  part  of  the  cathedral  was  built.  The 
south  transept  was  commenced  only  in  1500 ;  the  northern  one  thirty 
years  later,  and  was  only  finished  in  1537  ;  but  even  this  hardly  gives 


397.    Doorway,  South  Transept,  Beauvais.    (From  Chapuy.) 


the  date  of  the  details,  for  in  1555  the  architects  of  the  building,  being 
seized  with  a  desire  of  rivalling  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome, 
which  was  then  the  object  of  universal  admiration,  undertook  the 
construction  of  a  spire  on  the  intersection  of  the  transepts,  which 

A'OL.  T. — 30 


♦ 


546 


FRENCH  AllCIIITECTURE. 


they  completed  in  thirteen  years,  but  which  stood  only  five  yeai^ 
from  that  time,  having  fallen  down  on  the  day  of  the  Ascension  in 
the  year  1573.  This  accident  so  damaged  the  works  under  it  as  to 
require  considerable  reconstruction,  which  is  Avhat  we  now  see.  This 
spire,  of  which  the  original  drawings  still  exist,  was  486  ft.  in  height ; 
and  although,  as  might  be  expected  from  the  age  in  which  it  was 
erected,  not  of  the  purest  design,  must  still  have  been  a  very  noble 
and  beautiful  object,  hardly  inferior  to  that  of  Chartres,  which  was 
built  only  half  a  century  earlier. 

Taken  altogether,  the  cathedral  of  Beauvais  may  be  considered  as  an 
example  of  that  "  vaulting  ambition  that  o'erleaps  itself."  Every  prin- 
ciple of  Gothic  art  is  here  carried 
to  an  extreme  which  destroys 
the  object  with  which  it  was  de- 
signed, and  not  only  practically 
has  caused  the  ruin  of  the  build- 
ing and  prevented  its  completion, 
but  has  so  far  destroyed  its  ar- 
tistic effect  as  to  make  it  an  ex- 
ample of  what  should  be  avoided 
rather  than  of  what  should  be 
followed.  It  has  all  that  want 
of  repose  and  solidity  which  has 
often  been  made  the  reproach 
of  Gothic  architecture.  Not- 
withstanding its  size,  it  has  no 
majesty:  and  though  it  has 
stood  so  long,  it  has  a  painful 
appearance  of  instability :  its 
whole  construction  looks  like 
props  applied  to  prevent  its 
falling,  rather  than,  as  in  the 
earlier  buildings,  suggesting  ad- 
ditional strength  and  insuring 
durability.  Even  its  details,  as 
shown  in  the  Woodcut  No.  397, 
representing  one  of  the  tran- 
septs, show  an  attenuation  and  meagreness  very  unusual  in  French 
architecture,  and  which,  though  graceful,  have  neither  the  power 
of  the  earlier  nor  the  richness  characteristic  of  contemporary 
buildings. 

The  cathedral  of  Noyon  is  an  earlier  example,  and  one  of  the  best 
and  most  elegant  transition  specimens  in  France,  having  been  com- 
menced about  the  year  1137,  and  completed,  as  we  now  see  it,  in  1167. 
Here  the  circular  arch  had  not  entirely  disappeared,  which  was  owing 


i.   Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Noyon. 
Ramee's  "  Moiiographie.") 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


(Froi 


Bk.  11.  Ch.  IX. 


FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATHEDRALS. 


547 


to  its  early  date,  and  to  its  situation  near  tlie  (  jcrman  border,  and  its 
connection  with  the  See  of  Tournay,  with  whicli  it  was  long  united. 
Like  the  sister  church  at  that  place,  it  was  triapsal,  which  gave  it 
great  elegance  ox  arrangement.  The  one  defect  of  this  form  seems  to 
be,  that  it  does  not  lend  itself  easily  to  the  combination  of  towers 
which  were  then  so  much  in  vogue. 

In  singular  contrast  to  this  is  the  neighboring  cathedral  of  Laon, 
one  of  the  very  few  in  France  which  have  no  chevet.  It  terminates 
with  a  square  east  end,  like  an  English  church,  except  that  it  has 
there  a  great  circular  window  only,  instead  of  the  immense  wall  of 


399.    Spires  of  Laoii  Cathedral.    (From  Dusomerard.) 


glass  usually  adopted  in  this  country.  In  style  it  more  resembles  tlie 
cathedral  of  Paris  than  any  other,  though  covering  less  ground  and 
smaller  in  all  its  features.  Its  great  glory  is  its  crowning  group  of 
towers.  The  two  western  (with  the  exception  of  their  spires)  and 
the  two  at  the  end  of  the  northern  transept  are  complete.  On  the 
southern  side  only  one  has  been  carried  to  its  full  height,  and  the 
central  lantern  is  now  crowned  by  a  low  pyramidal  roof  instead  of 
the  tall  spire  that  must  once  have  adorned  it ;  but  even  as  they 
now  are,  the  six  that  remain,  whether  seen  from  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of   the  building  or  from  the  plain   below  — for  it 


o48 


FRENCH  AECHITECTUKE, 


I'ABT  II 


400.   View  of  Cathedral  at  (,'outaiices.    (From  Transactions  of  Institute  of  British  Architects.) 


Stands  most  nobly  on  the  flfit  top  of  a  high  isolated  hill  —  have  a 

highly  picturesque  and  pleasing 
effect,  and  notwithstanding  the 
rudeness  of  some  of  its  details, 
U  and  its  deficiency  in  sculpture,  it 
is  in  many  respects  one  of  the 
most  interesting  of  the  cathedrals 
of  France. 

One  of  the  eai'liest  of  the  com- 
])lete  pointed  Gothic  churches  of 
France  is  that  of  Coutances  (Wood- 
cut No.  400),  the  whole  of  which 
belongs  to  the  first  half  of  the  13th 
century,  and  though  poor  in  sculp- 
ture, makes  up  for  this  to  some 
extent  by  the  elegance  of  its  archi- 
tectural details,  which  are  unri- 
iiapuy.)  vailed  or  nearly  so  in  France. 


401.    Lady  Chapel,  A uxer 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


FRENCH  <TOTniC  CATHEDRALS. 


549 


Externally  it  possesses  two  western  spires,  and  one  octagonal 
lantern  over  the  intersection  of  the  nave  and  transe])t,  which,  both 
for  beauty  of  detail  and  appropriateness,  is  the  best  sp;ecinien  of  its 
class,  and  only  wants  the  crowning  spire  to  make  this  group  of  towers 
equal  to  anything  on  this  side  of  the  Channel. 

Notre  Dame  de  Dijon  is  another  example  of  the  same  early  and 
elegant  age,  but  possessing  the  Burgundian  ])eculiarity  of  a  deeply 
recessed  jwrch  or  nar- 
thex,  surmounted  by  a 
fa9ade  of  two  open 
galleries,  one  over  the 
other,  exactly  in  the 
manner  of  the  churches 
of  Pisa  and  Lucca  of 
the  11th  and  12th  cen- 
turies, of  which  it  may 
be  considered  an  imita- 
tion. It  is,  however, 
as  unsatisfactory  in 
pointed  Gothic,  even 
with  the  very  best  de- 
tails, as  it  is  in  the 
l)seudo-classical  style  of 
Pisa,  forming  in  either 
case  a  remarkably  un- 
meaning mode  of  deco- 
ration. 

The  cathedrals  of 
Sens  and  Auxerre 
are  pure  examples 
of  pointed  architecture. 
The  latter  (a.d.  1213) 
internally  rivals  per- 
haps even  Coutances. 
Nothing  can  be  more 
elegant  than  the  junc- 
tion of  the  lady  chapel 
here  with  the  chevet;  for  though  this  is  almost  always  pleasingly 
arranged,  the  design  has  been  unusually  successful  in  this  instance. 
The  two  slender  shafts,  shown  in  the  Woodcut  No.  401,  just  suffice 
to  give  it  pre-eminence  and  dignity,  without  introducing  any  feature 
so  large  as  to  disturb  the  harmony  of  the  whole. 

In  the  great  church  at  St.  Quentin,  the  five  chapels  of  the  chevet 
have  each  two  pillars,  arranged  similarly  to  these  of  the  lady  chapel 
at  Auxerre ;  and  though  the  effect  is  rich  and  varied,  the  result  is  not 


402.  Plan  of  Cathedral  at  '1  royes.   (From  Arnaud,  "  Voyage 
dans  le  Departeinent  de  I'Aube.;    scale  loO  ft.  to  1  in. 


550 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


quite  so  happy  as  in  this  instance.  Taken  altogether,  however,  few 
chevets  in  France  are  more  perfect  and  beautiful  than  this  almost 
unknown  example. 

The  cathedral  of  Troyes,  commenced  in  1206,  and  continued  steadily 
for  more  tlian  three  centuries,  is  one  of  the  few  in  France  desio-ned 
originally  Avith  five  aisles  and  a  range  of  chapels.  The  effect,  however, 
is  far  from  satisfactory.  The  great  width  thus  given  makes  the  whole 
appear  low,  and  the  choir  wants  that  expansion  and  dignity  which  is 


403.   Fa9a(le  of  Cathedral  at  Troyes.    (From  Ariuiud.) 

SO  pleasing  at  Rheims  and  Chartres.  Still  the  details  and  design  of 
the  earlier  parts  are  good  and  elegant ;  and  the  west  front  (Woodcut 
No.  403),  though  belonging  wholly  to  the  16th  century,  is  one  of  the 
most  pleasing  specimens  of  flamboyant  work  in  France,  being  rich 
without  exuberance,  and  devoid  of  the  bad  taste  that  sometimes  dis- 
figures works  of  this  class  and  age. 

The  cathedral  at  Soissons  is  on o  of  the  most  pleasing  of  all  these 
churches.    Nothing  can  surpass  the  justness  of  the  proportions  of  the 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATHEDRALS. 


551 


404.  Window  of  Cathedi  iil 
at  Lyons.  (From  Pey- 
ree's  "Manuel  de  I'Arcii- 
itecture.") 


central  and  side  aisles  both  in  themselves  and  to  one  another.  Though 
the  church  is  not  large,  and  principally  of  that  age  —  the  latter  half  of 
the  13th  century — in  which  the  effect  depended 
so  much  on  painted  glass,  now  destroyed  or 
disarranged,  it  still  deserves  a  place  in  the  hrst 
rank  of  French  cathedrals. 

The  two  cathedrals  of  Toul  and  Tours  present 
many  points  of  great  beauty,  but  their  most  re- 
markable features  ai-e  their  western  facades,  both 
of  late  date,  each  ])ossessing  two  towers  termi- 
nating in  octagonal  lanterns,  with  details  verging 
on  the  style  of  the  Renaissance,  and  yet  so  Gothic 
in  design  and  so  charmingly  executed  as  almost 
to  induce  the  belief,  in  spite  of  the  fanciful  extrav- 
agance which  it  displays,  that  the  architects 
were  approaching  to  something  new  and  beautiful 
when  the  mania  for  classical  details  overtook 
them. 

The  two  cathedrals  of  Limoges  and  Dijon 
belong  to  the  latter  half  of  the  13th  century,  and,  will,  consequently 
when  better  known  fill  a  gaj)  pain- 
fully felt  in  the  history  of  the  art. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate 
all  the  great  cathedrals  of  the  country, 
or  to  attempt  to  describe  their  pecu- 
liarities; but  we  must  not  omit  all 
mention  of  such  as  Lisieux,  remark- 
able for  its  beautiful  facade,  and 
Evreux,  for  the  beauty  of  many  of  its 
parts,  though  the  whole  is  too  much 
a  patchwork  to  produce  an  entirely 
pleasing  effect.  Nevers,  too,  is  re- 
markable as  being  one  of  the  only 
two  double-apse  cathedrals  in  France, 
Besan9on  being  the  other.  At  Nevers 
this  was  owing  to  the  high  altar 
having  been  originally  at  the  west, 
a  defect  felt  to  be  intolerable  in 
I  ance  in  the  16th  century,  when 
the  church  was  rebuilt,  when  it  was 
done  without  destroying  the  old  sanc- 

.  -r>      1  IT  •        -.  Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Bazas.  (From 

tuary.    J^ordeaux,  already  mentioned        Lamothe.i)  scale  loo  ft  to  i  in. 


1  "Compte  Rendu  des  Travaux  de  la  Commission  des  Monuments,"  etc.: 
Rapport  presente  au  Prefet  de  la  Gironde,  1848  et  seq. 


552 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


for  its  noble  nave  without  aisles,  possesses  a  chevet  worthy  of  it,  and 
two  spires  of  great  beauty  at  the  ends  of  the  transepts,  the  only  spires 
so  placed,  I  think,  in  France.  Autun  has  a  spire  on  the  intersection 
of  the  nave  with  the  transepts  as  beautiful  as  anything  of  the  same 
class  elsewhere.    The  cathedral  of  Lyons  is  interesting,  as  showing- 


style  and  adopt  tliatof  their  Northern  neighbors. 


how  hard  it  was  for  the  Southern  people  of  France  to  shake  off  their  old 

With  much  grand- 
eur and  elegance 
of  details,  it  is  still 
so  clumsy  in  de- 
sign that  neitlier 
the  whole  nor  any 
of  its  parts  can 
be  considered  as 
satisfactory.  The 
windows,  for  in- 
stance, as  shown  in 
the  woodcut  (No. 
404),  look  more  like 
specimens  of  the  so- 
called  carpenter's 
Gothic  of  modern 
times  than  exam- 
ples of  the  art  of 
the  Middle  Ages. 

There  still  re- 
mains to  be  men- 
tioned the  cathe- 
dral at  Rouen. 
This  remarkable 
building  possesses 
parts  belonging  to 
all  ages,  and  ex- 
hibits most  of  the 
beauties,  as  also,  it 
must  be  confessed, 
most  of  the  defects  of  each  style.  It  was  erected  with  a  total 
disregard  to  all  rule,  yet  so  splendid  and  so  picturesque  that 
we  are  almost  driven  to  the  wild  luxuriance  of  nature  to  find 
anything  to  which  we  can  compare  it.  Internally  its  nave, 
though  rich,  is  painfully  cut  up  into  small  parts.  The  undivided 
piers  of  the  choir,  on  the  contrary,  are  too  simple  for  their 
adjuncts.  Externally,  the  transept  towers  are  beautiful  in  them- 
selves, but  are  overpowered  by  the  richness  of  those  of  the  west  front. 
The  whole  of  that  fa9ade,  in  spite  of  the  ruin  of  some  of  its  most 


406. 


Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Bourges.    (From  Girardot, 
tiou  de  la  Cathedrale.")   Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


Descrip- 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


FRENCH  GOTHIC  CATHEDRALS. 


553 


important  features,  and  the  intrusion  of  much  modern  vulgarity,  may 
be  called  a  romance  in  stone,  consisting  as  it  does  of  a  profusion  of  the 
most  playful  fancies.  Like  most  of  the  cathedrals  near  our  shores, 
that  of  Rouen  was  designed  to  have  a  central  spire ;  this,  however, 
was  not  completed  till  late  in  the  cinque-cento  age,  and  then  only  in 
vulgar  woodwork  meant  to  imitate  stone.  That  being  destroyed,  an 
attempt  has  lately  been  made  to  replace  it  by  still  more  vulgar  iron- 
work, leaner  and  poorer  than  almost  anything  else  of  modern  times. 

In  the  preceding  pages,  all  mention  of  the  cathedrals  of  Bazas  and 
Bourges  has  been  purposely  omitted,  because  they  belong  to  a  different 
type  from  the  above.    The  first  (Woodcut  No.  405)  is  one  of  the  most 


perfect  specimens  of  the  pure  Gothic  style  in  the  South  of  France. 
Its  noble  triple  portal,  filled  with  exquisite  sculpture,  and  its  exten- 
sive chevet,  make  it  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  its  class.  It  shows 
no  trace  of  a  transept,  —  a  peculiarity,  as  before  pointed  out,  by  no 
means  uncommon  in  the  South.  This,  though  a  defect  in  so  far  as 
external  effect  is  concerned,  gives  great  value  to  the  internal  dimen- 
sions, the  appearance  of  length  being  far  greater  than  when  the  view 
is  broken  by  the  intersection  of  the  transept. 

This  is  still  more  striking  at  Bourges,  where  the  cathedral,  though 
one  of  the  finest  and  largest  in  France,  covering  73,170  square  feet,  is 
still  one  of  the  shortest,  being  only  405  ft.  in  extreme  length;  yet 
owing  to  the  central  aisle  being  wholly  unbroken,  it  appears  one  of 


554 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


the  longest,  as  it  certainly  is  one  of  the  most  majestic  of  all.  This 
cathedral  possesses  also  another  Southern  peculiarity  of  more  ques- 
tionable advantage,  in  having  five  aisles  in  three  different  heights- 
The  section  (Woodcut  No.  407)  will  explain  this.  The  central  aisle  is 
117  ft.  in  height,  those  next  to  it  66  ft.  high,  the  two  outer  only  28. 
These  last  appear  to  destroy  the  harmony  of  the  whole,  for  on  an 
inspection  of  the  building,  tlie  outer  aisles  do  not  apj^ear  to  belong  to 
the  design,  but  look  more  like  afterthoughts.  At  Milan,  Bologna,  and 
other  places  in  Italy,  where  this  gradation  is  common,  this  mistake  is 
avoided,  and  the  effect  proportionably  increased  ;  and  except  that  this 
arrangement  does  not  admit  of  such  large  window  spaces,  in  other 
respects  it  is  not  quite  clear  that,  wiiere  double  aisles  are  used,  it 
would  not  always  be  better  that  they  should  be  of  different  heights. 
This  arrangement  of  the  aisles  was  never  again  fairly  tried  in  France  ; 
but  even  as  it  is  the  cathedral  of  Bourges  must  rank  after  the  four 
first  mentioned  as  the  finest  and  most  perfect  of  the  remaining  edifices 
of  its  class  in  that  country.  It  is  singularly  beautiful  in  its  details, 
and  happy  in  its  main  propoilions :  for  owing  to  the  omission  of  the 
transept,  the  length  is  exquisitely  adapted  to  the  other  dimensions^ 
Had  a  transei)t  been  added,  at  least  100  ft.  of  additional  length 
would  have  been  required  to  restore  the  harmony ;  and  though 
externally  it  would  no  doubt  have  gained  by  such  an  adjunct,  this, 
gain  would  not  have  been  adequate  to  the  additional  expense  so 
incurred. 

The  greater  part  of  the  western  facade  of  this  cathedral  is  of  a  latei 
date  than  the  building  itself,  and  is  extended  so  much  beyond  the  pro- 
portions required  for  effect  as  to  overpower  the  rest  of  the  building,  se 
that  it  is  only  from  the  sides  or  the  eastern  end  that  all  the  beauty  of 
this  church  can  be  appreciated. 

As  far  as  regards  size  or  richness  of  decoration,  the  cathedral  of 
Orleans  deserves  to  rank  as  one  of  the  very  first  in  France,  and  is 
remarkable  as  the  only  first-class  Gothic  cathedral  erected  in  Eurone 
since  the  Middle  Ages.  The  original  church  on  this  site  having  b^, 
destroyed  by  the  Calvinists,  the  present  cathedral  was  commenced  in 
the  year  1601  by  Henry  IV.  of  France,  and  although  the  rebuilding 
proceeded  at  first  with,  great  vigor,  and  the  work  was  never  wholly 
discontinued,  it  is  even  norw  hardly  completed. 

Considering  the  age  in  which  it  was  built,  and  the  contemporary 
specimens  of  so-called  Gothic  art  erected  in  France  and  England,  it 
is  wonderful  how  little  of  classical  admixture  has  been  allowed  to 
creep  into  the  design  of  this  building,  and  how  closely  it  adhered  to 
every  essential  of  the  style  adopted.  In  plan,  in  arrangement,  and, 
indeed,  in  details,  it  is  so  correct,  that  it  requires  considerable  knowl- 
edge to  define  the  difference  between  this  and  an  older  building  of  the 
snme  class.    Still  there  is  a  wide  difference,  which  makes  itself  felt 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


COLLEGIATE  CHUIICHES. 


555 


though  not  easily  descrioe^,  and  consists  in  the  fact  tliat  the  o^d  cathe- 
drals were  built  by  men  who  had  a  true  perception  of  their  art ;  while 
the  modern  example  only  bears  evidence  of  a  well-learnt  lesson,  dis- 
tinctly repeated,  but  without  any  real  feeling  for  tlie  subject.  This 
want  betrays  itself  in  an  unmeaning  repetition  of  parts,  in  a  deficiency 
of  depth  and  richness,  and  in  a  general  poverty  of  invention. 


Collegiate  Churches. 


It  would  not  oe  difficult  to  select  out  of  the  collegiate  churches 
Oi  France  as  complete  a  series  as  of  the  cathedrals,  though  of  inferior 
size.  But  having  al- 
ready gone  through 
the  one  class  of  build- 
ings, we  must  confine 
ourselves  to  a  brief 
notice  of  the  other. 
The  church  of  Charite 
sur  Loire  was  one  of 
the  most  picturesque 
and  beautiful  in 
France.  It  is  now 
partially  ruined, 
though  still  retaining 
enough  of  its  original 
features  to  illustrate 
clearly  the  style  to 
wdiich  it  belongs. 
Originally  the  church 
was  about  350  feet  in 
length  by  90  in 
breadth.  One  tower 
of  the  western  front, 
one  aisle,  and  the 
whole  of  the  choir  still 
remain,  and  belong 
without  doubt  to  the  church  dedicated  in  ,1106  by  Pope  Pascal.  The 
presence  of  the  pointed  form  in  the  pier-arches  and  vaults  has  induced 
some  to  believe  that  this  church  belongs  to  the  reign  of  Philip  Augustus, 
about  a  century  later,  and  when  the  church  was  restored  after  a  great 
fire.  Its  southern  position,  however,  the  circumstance  of  its  being 
the  earliest  daughter  church  of  the  abbey  of  Cluny,  and  the  whole 
style  of  the  building,  are  proofs  of  its  earlier  age.  All  the  decora- 
tive parts,  and  all  the  external  openings,  still  retain  the  circular  fornr 
as  essentially  as  if  the  pointed  had  never  been  introduced. 


408. 


View  111  the  Church  ot  Cliarite  sur  Loir( 
by  the  Author.) 


(b  roiu  a  Sketch 


556 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II, 


The  most  remarkable  feature  in  this  church  is  the  exuberance  of 
tne  ornament  with  which  all  the  parts  are  decorated,  so  very  unlike 
the  massive  rudeness  of  the  contemporary  Norman  or  Northern  styles. 
The  capitals  of  the  pillars,  the  arches  of  the  triforium,  the  jambs  of 
the  windows  and  the  cornices,  all  show  a  refinement  and  love  of  orna- 
ment characteristic  of  a  far  more  advanced  and  civilized  people  than 
those  of  the  Northern  provinces  of  France. 

Among  those  who  were  present  at  the  dedication  of  this  church 

was  the  Abbe  Suger,  then 
a  gay  young  man  of 
twenty  years  of  age,  who 
about  thirty  years  later,  in 
the  plenitude  of  his  power, 
commenced  the  building 
of  the  abbey  of  St.  Denis, 
near  Pnris,thc  west  front  of 
which  was  dedicated  in  the 
year  1140,  and  the  rest  of 
the  church  built "  stupenda 
celeritate,"  and  dedicated 
in  1144.  Though  certninly 
not  the  earliest,  St.  Denis 
may  be  considered  as  the 
typical  example  of  the 
earliest  pointed  Gothic  in 
France.  It  terminated  the 
era  of  transition,  and  fixed 
the  epoch  when  the  Nor- 
thern pointed  style  became 


supreme. 


to  the  total  ex- 


Chever,  Pontigiiy 


11  riiaillou  ties  Barres.) 


elusion  of  the  round-arched 
style  tliat  preceded  it.  The 
effect  of  Suger's  church  is 
now  destroyed  by  a  nave 
of  the  14th  century  —  of 
^reat  beauty,  it  must  be  confessed  —  which  is  interpolated  between 
the-  western  front  and  the  choir,  both  which  remain  in  all  essentials 
as  left  by  him,  and  enable  us  to  decide  without  hesitation  on  the  state 
of  architectural  art  at  the  time  of  the  dedication  of  the  church. 

A  few  years  later  was  commenced  the  once  celebrated  abbey  of 
Pontigny,  near  Auxerre,  probably  in  1150,  and  completed,  as  we  now 
find  it,  within  15  or  20  years  from  tliat  date. 

Externally  it  displays  an  almost  barn-like  simplicity,  having  no 
toAvers  or  pinnacles  —  plain  undivided  windows,  and  no  ornament  of 
any  sort.    The  same  simplicity  reigns  in  the  interior,  but  the  varied 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


COLLEGIATE  ClIUllCIIES. 


557 


form  and  play  of  light  and.  shade  here  relieve  it  to  a  sufficient  extent, 
and  make  it  altogether,  if  not  one  of  the  most  cliarming  examples  of 
its  age,  at  least  one  of  the  most  instructive,  as  showing  how  much 
effect  can  be  obtained  by  ornamental  arrangement  with  the  smallest 
possible  amount  of  ornament.  In  obedience  to  the  rules  of  the  Cister- 
cian order,  it  neither  had  towers  nor  painted  glass,  which  last  circum- 
stance, perhaps,  adds  to  its  beauty,  as  we  now  see  it,  for  tlie  windows 
being  small,  admit  just  light  (enough  for  effect  without  the  painful 
p'lare  that  now  streams  throuG^h  the  laro-e  muUioned  windows  of  the 
cathedral  of  Auxerre. 

To  the  Englishman,  Pontigny  should  be  more  than  usually  inter- 
esting, as  it  was  here  tliat  tlie  three  most  celebrated  archbishops  of 
Canterbury  —  Becket,  Langton,  and  Edmund  —  found  an  asylum  when 
driven  by  the  troubles  of  their  native  land  to  seek  a  refuge  abroad, 
and  the  bones  of  the  last-named  sainted  prelate  are  said  still  to  remain 
in  the  chdsse^  represented  in  the  woodcut,  and  are  now  an<l  have  been 
for  centuries  the  great  object  of  worship  here. 

About  a  century  after  the  erection  of  these  two  early  specimens  we 
have  two  others,  the  dates  of  which  are  ascertained,  and  which  exhibit 
the  pointed  style  in  its  greatest  degree  of  perfection.  The  first,  the 
Sainte  Chapelle  in  Paris,  w^as  commenced  in  1241  and  dedicated  in 
1244 ;  ^  the  other,  the  church  of  St.  Urban  at  Troyes,  was  begun  in  1262, 
and  the  choir  and  transept  completed  in  1266.  Both  are  only  frag- 
ments—  choirs  to  which  it  was  originally  intended  to  add  naves  of 
considerable  extent.  The  proportions  of  the  Sainte  Chapelle  are  in 
consequence  somewhat  too  tall  and  short ;  but  the  noble  simplicity  of 
its  design,  the  majesty  of  its  tall  windows,  and  tlie  beauty  of  all  its 
details,  render  it  one  of  the  most  perfect  examples  of  the  style  at  its 
culminating  point  in  the  reign  of  St.  Louis.  N'ow  that  the  whole  of 
the  painted  glass  has  been  restored,  and  the  walls  repainted  according 
to  what  may  be  assumed  to  have  been  the  original  design,  we  are 
enabled  to  judge  of  the  effect  of  such  a  building  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
It  inay  be  that  our  eyes  are  not  educated  up  to  the  mark,  or  that  the 
restorers  have  not  quite  grasped  the  ancient  design;  but  the  effect  as 
now  seen  is  certainly  not  quite  satisfactory.  The  painted  glass  is 
glorious,  but  the  effect  would  certainly  have  been  more  pleasing  if  all 
the  structural  parts  of  the  architecture  had  been  of  one  color.  There 
is  no  repose  about  the  interior  —  nothing  to  explain  the  construction. 
The  flat  parts  may  have  been  painted  as  they  now  are  ;  but  surely 
the  shafts  and  ribs  could  only  have  been  treated  as  stone. 

The  other  was  founded  by  Pope  Urban  IV.,  a  native  of  Troyes, 
and  would  have  been  completed  as  a  large  and  magnificent  church, 


1  A  plan  of  the  Sainte  Chapelle  will  he  found  in  Book  VI.  Chap.  XL,  when 
comparmg  it  with  St.  Stephen's  Chapel,  Westminster. 


558 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II 


but  for  the  opposition  of  some  contumacious  nuns,  who  had  sufficient 
power  and  influence  even  in  those  days  to  thwart  the  designs  of  the 
Pope  himself.  Its  great  perfection  is  the  beauty  of  its  details,  in 
which  it  is  unsurpassed  by  anything  in  France  or  in  Germany ;  its 
worst  defect  is  a  certain  exaggerated  temerity  of  construction,  which 
tends  to  show  how  fast,  even  when  this  church  was  designed,  archi- 
tecture was  passing 
from  the  hands  of 
the  true  artist  into 
those  of  the  mason, 
whose  attempts  to 
astonish  by  wonders 
of  construction  then 
and  ever  afterwards 
completely  marred 
the  progress  of  the  art 
which  was  thought 
to  be  thereby  jrro- 
moted. 

About  seventy 
years  after  this  we 
come  to  the  choir  o^. 
St.  Ouen,  and  to  an- 
other beautiful  little 
church,  Ste.  Marie 
del'Epine  (Woodcut 
No.  410),  near  Cha- 
lons sur  Marne,  com- 
menced apparently 
about  1329,  though 
not  completed  till 
long  afterwards. ^  It 
is  small  —  a  minia- 
ture cathedral  in  fact 
—  like  our  St.  Mary 

410.    West  Front  of  ste.  Marie  I'Epine.    (From  Dusomerard.)       Redcliffe,   which  in 

many  respects  it  re- 
sembles, and  is  a  perfect  bijou  of  its  class.  One  western  spire 
remains  —  the  other  was  destroyed  to  make  room  for  a  telegraph  —  and 


1  Mr,  Beresford  HoDe,  in  his  "Eng- 
lish Cathedral  of  the  XlXth  Century," 
contends  that  this  church  was  only  com- 
menced in  1419;  and  also  maintains  that 
the  west  front  was  completed  by  an  Eng- 
lish architect  named  Patrick  in  1429.  If 
this  were  so,  we  must  abandon  all  our 


chronology  founded  on  style.  It  is  all  a 
mistake  if  the  east  end  is  not  a  century 
earlier.  I  am,  however,  unwilling  to  go 
to  school  again  on  the  faith  of  a  little 
pamphlet,  published  by  a  French  cure 
in  a  remote  village. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


COLLEGIATE  CHURCHES. 


559 


is  not  only  beautiful  in  itself,  but  interesting  as  almost  the  on^y 
example  of  an  open-work  spire  in  France. 

The  church  of  St.  Ouen,  at  Rouen,  was  beyond  comparison  the 
most  beautiful  and  perfect  of  the  abbey  edifices  of  France.  This  was 
commenced  by  Marc  d' Argent  in  the  year  1318,  and  was  carried  on 
uninterruptedly  for  twenty-one  years,  and  at  his  death  the  choir  and 
transepts  were  completed,  or  very 
nearly  so.  The  English  wars  inter- 
rupted at  this  time  the  progress  of 
this,  as  of  many  other  buildings, 
and  the  works  of  the  nave  were 
not  seemingly  resumed  till  about 
1490,  and  twenty-five  yp.ars  later 
the  beautiful  western  front  was 
commenced. 

Except  that  of  Limoges,  the 
choir  is  almost  the  only  perfect 
building  of  its  age,  and,  being 
nearly  contemporary  with  the  choir 
at  Cologne  (1276  to  1321),  affords 
a  means  of  comparison  between 
the  two  styles  of  Germany  and 
France  at  that  age,  entirely  to  the 
advantage  of  the  French  example, 
which,  though  very  much  smaller, 
avoids  all  the  more  glaring  faults 
of  the  other. 

Nothing,  indeed,  can  exceed  the 
beauty  of  proportion  of  this  most 
elegant  church  ;  and,  except  that  it 
wants  the  depth  and  earnestness  of 
the  earlier  examples,  it  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  most  beautiful  thing 
of  its  kind  in  Europe.  The  propor- 
tion, too,  of  the  nave,  transepts,  and 
choir  to  one  another  is  remarkably 
happy,  and  affords  a  most  striking 
contrast  to  the  very  imperfect 
proportions  of  Cologne.  Its  three  towers  also  would  have  formed 
a  perfect  group  as  originally  designed,  but  the  central  one  was 
not  completed  till  so  late  that  its  details  have  lost  the  aspiring 
character  of  the  building  on  which  it  stands,  and  the  western  spires, 
as  rebuilt  within  the  last  few  years,  are  incongruous  and  inappro- 
priate ;  whereas,  had  the  original  design  been  carried  out  according 
to  the  drawings  which  still  exist,  it  would  have  been  one  of  the  most 


411.    Plan  of  Church  of  St.  Oueii  at  Koueu 
(From  Peyree's  "  Manuel.") 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


560  FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE.  Part  IL 


beautiful  fa9ades  known  anywhere.  The  diagonal  position  of  tlie 
towers  met  most  happily  the  difficulty  of  giving  breadth  to  the  fa9ade 
without  placing  them  beyond  the  line  of  the  aisles,  as  is  done  in  the 


412.   Cliurcli  ot  bt.  Ouen  at  lioueii,  from  the  S.  E.    (From  Chapuy.) 


cathedral  of  Rouen,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  a  variety  to  the  per^ 
spective  which  must  have  had  the  most  pleasing  effect.  Had  the  idea 
occurred  earlier,  few  western  towers  would  have  been  placed  other- 
wise; but  the  invention  came  too  late,  and  within  the  last  few  years 
we  have  seen  all  traces  of  the  arrangement  ruthlessly  obliterated. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


COLLEGIATE  CHURCHES. 


561 


The  style  of  the  choir  of  this  church  may  be  fairly  judged  from  the 
view  of  the  southern  porch  (Woodcut  Xo.  41o).  This  has  all  that 
perfection  of  detail 


fere  with  it.  This  is  a  somewhat  rare  merit  in  French  portals.  In 
most  of  them  it  is  evident  that  the  architect  has  been-  controlled 
in  his  design  in  order  to  make  room  for  the  immense  quantity  of 
sculpture  which  usually  crowds  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  position 
of  the  figures  is  often  forced  and  constrained,  and  the  bas-reliefs  nearly 
unintelligible,  from  the  architects  having  been  unable  to  give  the 
sculptor  that  unencumbered  sjoace  which  was  requisite  for  the  full 
development  of  his  ideas. 

It  would  be  easy  to  select  numerous  examples  from  the  collegiate 
and  parish  churches  of  France  to  extend  this  series.  Our  limits  will 
not,  however,  admit  of  the  mention  of  more  than  one  other  instance. 
The  sepulchral  church  of  Brou  en  Bresse  was  erected  between  1511  and 
1536,  by  Margaret  of  Austria,  daughter  of  Maximilian,  and  aunt  of 
Charles  Y.,  Emperor  of  Germany.  It  was  therefore  nearly  contem- 
porary with  Henry  VII.'s  Chapel  at  Westminster,  and  thus  affords  the 
means  of  comparison  between  the  English  and  French  styles  of  the 
day,  which  is  wholly  in  favor  of  our  own ;  both  are  the  most  florid 
VOL.  I.  —  36 


which  we  are  accus. 
tomed  to  admire  in 
Cologne  Cathedral, 
and  the  works  of  the 
time  of  our  Second 
Edward,  combined 
with  a  degree  of  light- 
ness and  grace  pecu- 
liar to  this  church. 
The  woodcut  is  too 
small  to  show  the 
details  of  the  sculp- 
ture in  the  tympa- 
num above  the  doors, 
but  that  too  is  of 
exquisite  beauty,  and 
being  placed  where 
it  can  be  so  well 
seen,  and  at  the  same 
time  so  perfectly  pro- 
tected, it  heightens 
the  architectural  de- 
sign without  in  any 
way  seeming  to  inter- 


413.    Soutliei'ii  Jr'orcli  of  bt.  Oueii  at  Rouen.    (From  Cliapuy.) 


562 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


specimens  of  their  class  in  either  country,  but  at  Brou,  both  externally 
and  internally,  all  majesty  of  form  and  constructive  propriety  are  lost 
■^ight  of;  and  though  we  wonder  that  stone  could  be  cut  into  such  a 
marvellous  variety  of  lace-like  forms,  and  are  dazzled  by  the  splendor 
of  the  whole,  it  is  with  infinite  pleasure  that  we  turn  from  these 
elaborate  specimens  of  declining  taste  to  an  earlier  and  purer  style. 
Fascinating  as  some  of  these  late  buildings  undoubtedly  are  from  the 
richness  of  decorative  fancy  that  reigns  in  every  detail,  still  they  can 
only  be  regarded  as  the  production  of  the  stone-mason  and  carver,  and 
not  of  the  arts  of  the  architect  or  sculptor  properly  so  called. 

In  the  city  of  Rouen  we  also  find  the  beautiful  church  of  St.  Maclou 
(1432-1500),  a  gorgeous  specimen  of  the  later  French  style,  presenting 
internally  all  the  attenuation  and  defects  of  its  age;  but  in  the  five 
arcades  of  its  beautiful  western  front  it  displays  one  bf  the  richest 
and  most  elegant  specimens  of  flamboyant  work  in  France.  It  also 
shows  what  tlie  fa9ade  of  St.  Ouen  would  have  been  if  completed  as 
designed.  This  church  once  possessed  a  noble  central  tower  and  spire, 
destroyed  in  1794.  When  all  this  was  complete,  few  clmrches  of  its 
age  could  have  competed  with  it. 

St.  Jacques  at  Diejjpe  is  another  church  of  the  same  age,  and  pos- 
sessing the  same  lace-like  beauty  of  detail  and  elaborate  finish,  which 
charms  in  spite  of  soberer  reason,  that  tells  us  it  is.  not  in  stone  that 
such  vagaries  should  be  attempted.  Abbeville,  St.  Riquier,  and  all 
the  principal  towns  throughout  that  part  of  France,  are  rich  in  speci- 
mens of  the  late  Gothic,  of  which  we  are  now  speaking.  These 
specimens  are  in  many  respects  beautiful,  but  in  all  that  constitutes 
true  and  good  art  they  are  inferior  to  those  of  the  glorious  epoch 
which  i^receded  them. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  X. 


PILLAES. 


563 


CHAPTER  X. 

CONTENTS. 

Gothic  details  —  Pillars  —  Windows  —  Circular  windows  —  Bays  —  Vaults  —  But- 
tresses —  Pinnacles  —  Spires  —  Decoration  —  Construction  —  Furniture  of 
churches  —  Domestic  architecture. 

ALTHOUGH  in  the  preceding  pages,  in  describing  the  principal 
churches  of  France,  mention  has  been  made  of  the  various 
changes  of  derail  which  took  place  from  the  time  of  the  introduction 
of  the  pointed  style  till  its  abandonment  in  favor  of  the  revived 
classical,  still  it  seems  necessary  to  recapitulate  the  leading  changes 
that  were  introduced.  This  will  be  most  fitly  done  before  we  leave 
the  subject  of  French  architecture,  that  being  on  the  whole  the  most 
complete  and  harmonious  of  all  the  pointed  styles,  as  well  as  the 
earliest. 

Pillars. 

Of  these  details,  the  first  that  arrests  the  attention  of  the  inquirer 
is  the  form  of  the  pillars  or  piers  used  in  the  Middle  Ages,  inasmuch 
as  it  is  the  feature  that  bears  the  most  immediate  resemblance  to  the 
typical  forms  of  preceding  styles.  Indeed,  the  early  pillars  in  the 
round-arched  style  were  virtually  rude  imitations  of  Roman  originals, 
made  so  thick  and  heavy  as  to  bear  without  apparent  stress  the  whole 
weight  of  the  arches  they  supported,  and  of  the  superincumbent  wall. 
This  increase  of  the  weight  laid  upon  the  pillars,  and  consequently  in 
their  strength  and  heaviness,  was  the  great  change  introduced  into 
the  art  of  building  in  the  early  round  Gothic  style.  With  the  same 
requirements  the  classic  architects  either  must  have  thickened  their 
pillars  immensely,  or  coupled  them  in  some  way.  Indeed,  the  Romans, 
in  such  buildings  as  the  Colosseum,  placed  the  pillars  in  front  and 
a  pier  behind,  which  last  was  the  virtual  support  of  the  wall.  The 
Gothic  architects  improved  on  this  by  adding  a  pillar,  or  rather  a  half 
pillar,  on  each  side,  to  receive  the  pier  arches,  and  carrying  up  those 
behind  and  in  front  to  support  the  springing  of  the  vault  or  roof, 
instead  of  the  useless  entablature  of  the  Romans. 

By  this  Ineans  the  pier  became  in  plan  what  is  represented  in  Figs. 
1  and  2  in  the  diagram  (Woodcut  No.  414).  Sometimes  it  was  varied, 
as  represented  in  Fig.  3,  where  the  angle-shafts  were  only  used  to 
lighten  the  apparent  heaviness  of  the  central  mass ;  in  other  examples 
both  these  modes  are  combined,  as  in  Fig.  4,  which  not  only  construct- 


564 


FKENCH  AECHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


ively  but  artistically  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  combinations  which 
the  square  forms  are  capable  of,  combining  great  strength  with  great 
lightness  of  appearance,  and  variety  of  light  and  shade. 

These  four  forms  may  be  said  to  be  typical  in  the  South,  where  the 
style  was  derived  so  directly  from  the  Roman  square  pier  combined 
with  an  attached  circular  pillar. 

In  the  North  the  Normans, 'and,  generally  speaking,  all  the  Frankish 
tribes  used  the  circular  pillar  in  preference  to  the  square  pier,  and 
consequently  the  variations  were  as  shown  in  Figs.  5,  6,  7,  and  8 ; 
which,  though  forming  beautiful  combinations,  wanted  the  accentua- 
tion produced  by  the  contrast  between  the  square  and  round  forms. 


414.   Diagram  of  Plaus  of  Pillars. 


The  architects  after  a  time  seem  to  have  felt  this,  and  tried  to 
remedy  it  by  introducing  ogee  forms  and  sharp  edges,  with  deep 
undercut  shadows,  thus  applying  to  the  pillars  those  forms  which  had 
been  invented  for  the  mouldings  of  the  ribs  of  the  vaults,  and  for  the 
tracery  of  the  windows.  The  expedient  was  perfectly  successful  at 
first,  and,  so  long  as  it  was  practised  in  moderation,  gave  rise  to  some 
of  the  most  beautiful  forms  of  pillars  to  be  found  in  any  style.  It 
proved,  however,  too  tempting  an  opportunity  for  the  indulgence  of 
every  sort  of  quirk  and  quibble ;  and  after  passing  through  the  shapes 
shown  in  Figs.  9  and  10,  where  the  meaning  of  all  the  parts  is  still 
sufficiently  manifest,  it  became  as  complicated  as  Fig.  11,  and  sometimes 
even  more  cut  up,  so  that  all  meaning  and  beauty  was  lost.  It  became 
moreover  very  expensive  and  difficult  to  execute,  so  that  in  later  times 
the  architects  reverted  either  to  circular  pillars,  or  to  such  a  form  as 
that  shown  in  Fig.  12,  which  was  introduced  in  the  16th  century.  The 
change  may  have  been  partly  introduced  from  motives  of  economy, 
and  also  to  some  extent  from  a  desire  to  imitate  the  flutings  of  classical 
pillars :  but  from  whatever  motive  it  arose,  it  is  singularly  unmeaning 
and  inartistic ;  and  as  the  capital  was  at  the  same  time  omitted,  the 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  X. 


WINDOWS. 


565 


Window,  St.  Martin, 
Pans. 


whole  pillar  took  an  appearance  of  cold  poverty  entirely  at  variance 
with  the  true  spirit  of  Gothic  art.    This  last  change  showed,  per- 
haps more  clearly  than  those  introduced  into 
any  other  feature,  how  entirely  the  art  had 
died  away  before  the  classical  styles  super- 
seded it. 

Windows. 

Before  painted  glass  came  into  use,  very 
small  apertures  sufficed  to  admit  the  re- 
quired quantity  of  light  into  the  churches. 
These  openings  retained  their  circular-arched 
heads  long  after  the  pointed  form  pervaded 
the  A'aults  and  pier  arches,  because  the  archi- 
tects still  thought  them  the  most  beautiful  ; 
they  moreover  occupied  so  small  a  portion  of 
the  wall  spaces  that  their  lines  neither  came 
in  contact  nor  interfered  with  the  constructive 
lines  of  the  building  itself ;  but  when  it  was 
required  to  enlarge  them  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  large  pictures  the  retention  of  the 
circular  form  was  no  longer  practicable. 

The  Woodcut  No.  388,  showing  the  side 
elevation  of  Notre  Dame  at  Paris,  illustrates 
well  three  stages  of  this  process  as  practised 
in  the  12th  and  18th  centuries.  It  exhibits 
first  the  large  undivided  window  without 
muUions,  the  glass  being  supported  by  strong- 
iron  bars  ;  next,  that  with  one  mullion  and 
a  circular  rose  in  the  head ;  and  lastly,  in  the 
lower  story,  a  complete  traceried  window. 
The  transition  from  the  old  small  window 
to  the  first  of  these  is  easily  explained,  and 
the  Woodcut  No.  415,  representing  one  of  the 
windows  in  St.  Martin  at  Paris,  will  ex])lain 
the  transition  from  the  firs't  to  the  second. 
Instead  of  one  large  undivided  opening,  it  was 
often  thought  more  expedient  to  introduce  two 
lancets  side  by  side;  but  as  these  never  filled, 
nor  could  fill,  the  space  of  one  bay  so  as  to 
follow  its  principal  lines,  it  became  usual  to 
introduce  a  circular  window  of  greater  or  less 
size  between  their  heads.    This,  with  the  rude 

construction  of  the  age,  presented  certain  difficulties,  which  were 
obviated  by  carrying  the  masonry  of  the  vault  through  the  wall  so  a* 


416.    Window  of  Nave  of 
Cathedral  at  Cliartres. 


417.    AVindow  in  Choir  of 
Cathedral  at  Chartres. 


566 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


418. 


to  form  a  discharging  arch.  When  once  this  was  done  it  required 
only  a  glance  from  an  experienced  builder  to  see  that  if  the  dis- 
charging arch  were  strong  enough,  the  whole  of  the  wall  between 
the  buttresses  might  be  removed  without  endangering  the  safety 
of  the  building.  This  was  accordingly  soon 
done.  The  pier  between  the  two  lancets  be- 
came attenuated  into  a  mullion,  the  circle  lost 
its  independence,  and  was  grouped  with  them 
undei-  the  discharging  arch,  which  was  carried 
down  each  side  in  boldly  splayed  jambs,  and 
the  whole  became  in  fact  a  traceried  window. 

In  the  cathedral  at  Chartres  we  have  ex- 
ani))les  of  the  two  extremes  of  these  transi- 
tional windows.  In  the  windows  of  the  aisles 
of  the  nave  (Woodcut  No.  416)  the  circle  is 
small  and  insignificant,  and  only  serves  to  join 
together  the  two  lancets.  In  the  clerestory 
(AVoodcut  No.  417),  which  is  somewhat  later, 
the  circle  ^s  all  im])ortant  and  quite  over- 

il  powei-s  the  lower  ])aTt.  flere  it  is,  in  fact,  a 
J  c'ii-cular  window,  su})j)orted  by  a  rectilinear 
substructure.  In  both  these  instances  the  dis- 
charging arch  still  retains  its  circular  form, 
and  the  tracery  is  still  imperfect,  inasmuch  as 
all  the  openings  are  only  holes  of  various  forms 
cut  into  a  flat  surface,  whereas  to  make  it  per- 
fect, it  is  necessary  that  the  lines  of  two  con- 
tiguous ojienings  should  blend  together,  being 
sej)arated  by  a  straight  or  curved  moulded 
mullion,  and  not  merely  pierced  as  they  are 
in  this  instance.  This  may,  perhaps,  be  better 
illustrated  by  one  of  the  windows  of  the  side- 
aisles  at  Rheims,  where  the  pointed  Gothic 
window  has  become  comj)lete  in  all  its  essential 
parts.  Even  here,  it  will  be  observed  how 
awkwardly  the  circle  fits  into  the  s])herical 
ti'iangle  of  the  upj:)er  part  of  the  window. 
Indeed,  there  is  an  insuperable  awkwardness 
in  the  small  triangles  necessarily  left  in 
fitting  circles  into  the  spaces  above  the  lancets,  and  beneath  the 
pointed  head  of 'the  openings.  When  four  or  five  lights  were  used 
instead  of  two,  this  defect  became  more  apparent ;  and  even  in  the 
exam])le  from  St.  Ouen  (Woodcut  No.  419),  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
in  France,  the  architect  has  not  been  able  to  obviate  the  discordance 
between  the  conflicting  lines  of  the  circle  and  spherical  triangle.  At 


^\  mdow  at  St.  Oueii. 


bk.  n.  ch.  X. 


CIRCULAR  WINDOWS. 


567 


420,    Window  at  Chartres. 


last,  after  two  centuries  of  earnest  trial,  the  builders  of  those  days 
found  themselves  constrained  to  abandon  entirely  these  beautiful  con- 
structive geometric  forms,  for  tracery  of  a  more  manageable  nature, 
and  in  place  of  the  circle  they  invented  first  a  flowing  tracery,  of 
which  the  window  at  Chartres  (Woodcut  No. 
420)  is  an  exquisite  examj^le ;  and  then  having 
shaken  off  the  trammels  of  constructive  form, 
launched  at  once  into  all  the  vagaries  of  the 
flamboyant  style.  In  this  style  stone  tracery 
was  made  to  look  bent  and  twisted,  as  willow 
wands.  Its  forms,  it  must  be  confessed,  were 
always  graceful,  but  constructively  weak,  and 
frequently  extravagant,  showing  a  complete  con- 
trast to  the  contemporary  perpendicular  style 
followed  in  England.  That  failed  from  the  stiff- 
ness of  its  forms ;  this  from  the  fantastic  pliancy 
with  which  so  rigid  a  material  as  stone  was 
used.  Greatness  or  grandeur  was  as  impossible 
in  flamboyant  tracery,  as  grace  and  beauty  were 
with  the  perpendicular  style ;  still  for  domestic 
edifices,  and  for  the  smaller  churches  erected  in 
the  16th  century,  it  must  be  confessed  the  flamboyant  style  has  a 
charm  it  is  impossible  to  resist.  It  is  so  graceful  and  so  fantastically 
brilliant,  that  it  captivates  in  spite  of  our  soberer  reason,  lending  as 
it  does  an  elegance  to  every  edifice  where  it  is  found,  and  finding  its 
parallel  alone  among  the  graceful  fancies  of  the  Saracenic  architects 
of  the  best  age. 

Circular  Windows. 

By  far  the  most  brilliant  examples  of  this  class  in  France  are  to  be 
found  among  the  great  circular  windows  with  which  the  west  ends 
and  transepts  of  the  cathedrals  were  adorned.  There  is,  I  believe,  no 
instance  in  France  of  the  great  straight-mull  ion  ed  windows  of  which 
our  architects  were  so  fond,  and  even  where  the  east  end  terminates 
squarely,  as  at  Laon,  it  has  a  great  rose  window.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  circle,  so  long  as  it  was  wholly  adhered  to,  was  the 
noblest  form  architecturally,  both  externally  and  internally ;  but  when 
the  triforium  below  it  was  pierced,  and  the  lower  angles  outside  the 
circle  were  filled  with  tracery,  making  it  into  something  like  our  great 
windows,  the  result  was  a  confusion  of  the  two  modes,  in  which  the 
advantages  of  neither  were  preserved. 

Of  the  earlier  circular  windows,  one  of  the  finest  is  that  in  the 
western  front  at  Chartres  (Woodcut  No.  421),  of  imperfect  tracery,  like 
the  greater  part  of  that  cathedral,  but  of  great  size  and  majesty.  Its 
diameter  is  39  ft.  across  the  openings,  and  44  ft.  6  in  across  to  the 


568 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IT 


outer  mouldings  of  the  circle.  Those  of  the  transepts  are  smaller, 
being  only  33  ft.  across  the  opening,  but  show  a  considerable  advance 
in  the  art  of  tracery,  which  by  the  time  they  were  executed  was  be- 
coming far  better  understood. 

If  space  admitted,  it  would  be  easy  to  select  examples  to  trace  the 
progress  of  the  invention  between  these  early  efforts  and  the  almost 
perfect  window  that  adorns  the  centre  of  the  west  front  at  Rheims 
(Woodcut  No.  423) ;  and  again  from  this  to  that  at  Evreux  (Woodcut 
No.  424).    In  the  latter  instance,  the  geometric  forms  have  given  way 


423.    West  AVindow,  Klieims.  424,    West  Window,  Evreux. 


to  tlie  lace-work  of  flowing  tracery,  of  which  this  is  a  pleasing  example. 
It  is  further  remarkable  in  respect  that  all  the  parts  of  the  tracery 
or  mullions  are  of  the  same  thickness,  whereas  it  is  usual  in  flowing  or 
flamboyant  tracery  to  introduce  a  considerable  degree  of  subordination 
into  the  parts,  dividing  them  into  greater  or  smaller  ribs,  thus  avoid- 
ing confusion  and  giving  to  the  whole  a  constructive  appearance  which 
it  otherwise  would  not  possess.  This  is  very  apparent  in  such  a 
window  as  that  which  adorns  the  west  front  of  St.  Ouen,  at  Rouen, 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  IX. 


BAYS. 


569 


where  the  parts  are  distinctly  subordinated  to  one  another,  and  liave 
consequently  that  strength  and  character  which  it  is  so  difficult  to 
impart.  It  also  exemplifies  what  was  before  alluded  to,  viz.,  the  mode 
in  which  the  lower  external  angles  of  the  circle  were  tilled  up,  and 
also,  in  a  far  more  pleasing  manner  than  usual,  the  mode  in  which 
the  pierced  triforium  is  made  to  form  part  of  the  decoi-ation.  Owing 
to  the  strong  transom  bar  here  employed,  there  is  strength  enough  to 
support  the  superstruc- 
ture ;  but  as  too  often  is 
the  case,  when  this  is 
subdued  and  kept  under, 
there  is  a  confusion  be- 
tw^een  the  circular  and 
upright  parts,  which  is 
not  pleasing.  It  is  then 
neither  a  circular  nor 
an  upright  window,  but 
an  indeterminate  com-  | 
pound  of  two  pleasing 
members,  in  which  both 
suffer  materially  by  jux-  -i,^;' 
taposition. 

I  believe  it  is  safe  to 
assert  that  out  of  at 
least  a  hundred  first- 
class  examples  of  these 
circular  windows,  which 
still  exist  in  France,  no 
two  are  alike.  On  the 
contrary,  they  present 
the  most  striking  dissimilarity  of  design.  There  is  no  feature  on 
which  the  FrencL  architects  bestowed  more  pains,  or  in  which  they 
were  more  successful.  They  are,  indeed,  the  chefs-cVmimre  of  their 
decorative  abilities,  and  the  most  pleasing  individual  features  of  their 
greater  churches.  At  the  same  time,  they  completely  refute  the  idea 
that  the  pointed  form  is  at  all  necessary  for  the  i)roduction  of  beauty 
in  decorative  apertures. 

Bays. 

It  may  be  useful  here  to  recapitulate  what  has  been  said  of  the  sub- 
division of  churches  into  bays,  or,  as  the  French  call  them,  trcwees.. 
The  two  typical  arrangements  of  these  are  shown  in  Woodcuts  Xos.. 
382  and  383,  as  existing  before  the  introduction  of  the  })ointed  forms. 
In  the  first  a  great  gallery  runs  over  the  whole  of  the  side-aisle, 
introduced  partly  as  a  constructive  expedient  to  serve  the  purpose  for 


425.   West  Window,  St.  Ouen.   (From  Pugin.) 


570 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Takt  il. 


which  flying  buttresses  were  afterwards  employed,  partly  as  enabling 
the  architect  to  obtain  the  required  elevation  Avithout  extraordinarily 
tall  pillars  or  wide  pier-spaces,  both  which  were  beyond  the  con- 
structive 2)owers  of  the  earlier  builders.  These  galleries  were  also 
useful  as  adding  to  the  accommodation  of  the  church,  as  people  were 
able  thence  to  see  the  ceremonies  performed  below,  and  to  hear  the 
mass  and  music  as  well  as  from  the  floor  of  the  church.  These 
advantages  were  counterbalanced  by  the  greater  dignity  and  archi- 
tectural beauty  of  the  second  arrangement  (Woodcut  No.  383),  where 
the  wdiole  height  was  divided  into  that  of  the  side-aisles  and  of  a  clere- 
story, separated  from  one  another  by  a  triforium  gallery,  which  repre- 
sented, in  fact,  the  depth  of  the  wooden  roof  requisite  to  cover  the 
side-aisles.  When  once  this  simple  and  beautiful  arrangement  w^as 
adopted,  it  continued  with  very  little  variation  throughout  the  Middle 
Ages.^  I  he  j^roportions  generally  used  were  to  make  the  aisles  half 
the  height  of  the  nave.  In  other  words,  the  string-course  below  the 
triforium  divided  the  height  into  two  equal  parts;  the  space  above  that 
was  divided  into  three,  of  which  two  were  allotted  to  the  clerestory, 
and  one  to  the  triforium.^  It  is  true  there  is  perhaps  no  single  instance 
in  which  the  proportions  here  given  are  exactly  preserved,  but  they 
sufficiently  represent  the.  general  division  of  the  parts,  from  which  the 
architects  only  deviated  slightly,  sometimes  on  one  side,  sometimes  on 
the  other,  according  to  their  taste  or  caprice.  The  only  really  important 
cliange  afterwards  introduced  was  that  of  glazing  the  triforium  gal- 
lery also,  by  ado])ting  a  flat  roof,  or  one  nearly  so,  over  the  side-aisles, 
as  the  nave  in  the  church  of  St.  Ouen  at  Rouen,  or  by  covering  each 
bay  by  a  pyramidal  roof  not  seen  from  the  interior,  as  is  shown  in  the 
Woodcuts  Nos.  385  and  392.  The  whole  w-alls  of  the  church,  with 
the  slight  exception  of  the  spandrils  of  the  great  pier-arches,  having 
thus  become  walls  of  glass,  the  mass  of  the  vault  being  supported 
only  by  the  deep  and  bold  constructive  lines  of  which  the  framework 
of  the  glazed  surfaces  consists. 

In  England  we  have  not,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  any  instance  of  a 
glazed  triforium,  but  it  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating  features  in  the 
later  styles  of  the  French  architects,  and  where  it  retains  its  colored 
glass,  which  is  indisj)ensable,  produces  the  most  fairy-like  effects.  It 
is,  however,  questionable  whether  the  deep  shadow  and  constructive 
propriety  of  the  English  practice  is  not,  on  the  whole,  more  satisfactory. 
In  a  structure  of  glass  and  iron  nothing  could  be  more  appropriate  than 
the  French  practice ;  but  in  a  building  of  stone  and  wood  more  solidity 
is  required  to  produce  an  effect  which  shall  be  permanently  pleasing. 


1  The  earlier  form  is  found  retained 
at  Noyon,  at  Paris,  as  shown  in  Wood- 
vut  No.  360.  and  in  most  of  the  churches 
of  tlie  12th  century ;  but  in  the  first  years 


of  the  13th  it  gave  place  to  the  second, 
and  was  not  afterwards  revived. 

2  See  Introduction,  page  29,  Wood- 
cut No.  4. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  X. 


VAULTS. 


571 


Vaults. 

It  has  ah-eady  been  explained  how  essential  a  part  of  a  Gothic 
church  the  vault  was,  and  how  completely  it  was  the  governing  power 
that  gave  form  to  the  art.  We  have  also  seen  the  various  steps  by 
which  the  architects  arrived  at  the  intersecting  vault,  which  became 
tlie  typical  form  in  the  best  age.  In  France  especially  the  stone  vault 
was  retained  throughout  as  a  really  essential  feature,  for  though  the 
English  were  so  successful  in  the  art  of  constructing  ornamental 
wooden  roofs,  the  practice  never  prevailed  in  France. 

In  the  best  age  the  arrangement  of  the  French  vaults  was  extremely 
simple.  The  aisles  were  generally  built  in  square  compartments,  the 
vaults  of  which  were  first  cir- 
cumscribed, each  by  four  equal 
arches  (Woodcut  No.  426),  of 
which  A  A  were  transverse  ribs, 
or  «7'c.9  doubleaux  as  the  French 
called  them,  and  were  used,  as 
we  have  seen,  in  the  old  tunnel- 
vaults.  These  arches,  as  spring- 
ing from  the  main  points  of 
support,    were    the    principal  42c.  jDiagram  of  vaulting. 

f>;trengtheners  of  the  vault,  b 

was  called  former et^  and  was  a  rib  built  into  the  Awnll,  of  the  same 
form  as  the  transverse  ribs,  and  so  called  because,  being  the  first  con- 
structed, it  gave  the  form  to  the  vault.  Lastly,  there  were  two  more 
ribs  springing  from  angle  to  angle,  and  intersecting  one  another  at  v. 
These  were  called  ogives^  from  the  Latin  word  augere,  to  strengthen,^ 
which  was  the  object  of  their  employment  —  and  every  builder  knows 
how  essential  is  the  strength  given  by  them.  In  modern  vaults  —  in 
cellars  or  dock-vaults  for  instance,  if  built  of  brick  —  it  is  usual  to  in- 
sert a  course  of  stone  on  the  edge  of  the  intersection,  for  bricks  used 
there  would  be  liable  to  be  crushed  or  fall  out.  But  tliougli  this  is  now 
done  flush  with  the  brickwork,  the  Medijeval  architects  allowed  this 
course  to  project,  not  only  because  such  a  form  was  stronger  in  itself, 
but  because  it  gave  the  appearance  as  well  as  the  reality  of  strength. 

The  roof  of  the  nave  was  composed  of  precisely  the  same  parts,  only 
that,  being  twice  as  wide  as  each  compartment  was  broad,  the  length 
of  the  transverse  ribs  and  of  the  intersecting  ogives  was  greater  in 
proportion  to  the  formerets  than  in  the  aisles.  Another  addition,  and 
certainly  an  improvement,  was  the  introduction  of  ridge-ribs  (d  d) 

The  Frencli  antiquaries  employ  tliis  that  the  word  has  nothing  to  do  with 

word  as  if  it  signified  a  pointed  arch,  the  form  of  the  arch  or  the  ogee,  but  is 

whence  they  designate  tlie  style  itself  as  the  name  of  a  rib  common  to  the  round- 

offival.     There  is  no  doubt,  however,  arched  as  well  as  to  the  pointed  style. 


572 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


marking  the  point  of  the  vault.  These  could  not  of  course  be  used 
with  circular  arches,  where  there  was  no  central  line  for  them  to  mark  ; 
and  it  jDrobably  was  from  this  cause  that  the  French  seldom  adopted 
them,  having  been  accustomed  to  vaults  not  requiring  them.  Another 
reason  was  that  all  tlieir  f  arlier  vaults  were  more  or  less  domical,  or, 
in  other  words,  the  ]^oint  v  was  higher  than  the  points  a  or  b,  though 
this  is  moi-o  a])])arent  in  liexapartite  vaults,  or  where  one  compart- 
ment of  the  nave-vaults  takes 
in  two  of  the  aisles,  than  in 
quadripai'tite,  like  those  now 
under  consideration.  Still  all 
French  vaults  have  this  pecu- 
liurity  more  or  less,  and  con- 
sequently the  longitudinal 
ridge-rib,  where  used,  has  an 
up  and  down  broken  appear- 
ance, which  is  extremely  dis- 
agreeable, and  must  in  a  great 
measure  ha.ve  prevented  its 
adoption.  There  is,  howevei-, 
at  least  one  exception  to  this 
rule  in  France,  in  tlio  abbey 
church  of  Souvigny,  repre- 
sented in  the  woodcut  No. 
427,  where  this  rib  is  used 
with  so  pleasing  an  effect 
that  one  is  surprised  it  was 
not  in  more  general  favor. 

These  are  the  only  features 
usually  employed  by  French 
architects :  but  we  do  some- 
times find  tiercerons,  or 
secondary  ogives,  used  to 
strengthen  as  well  as  to  orna- 

427.    Abbey  Cliui-cli,  Souvigny.    (From  "  L'Aiicieii  ,  ,   .  f  i 

Bourbomiais.'  )  ment  the  plain  races  or  the 

vaults,  one  or  two  on  each 
face,  as  at  e  e  (in  Woodcut  No.  426) ;  small  ribs  or  Hemes,  r  r, 
from  Her,  to  bind,  were  also  occasionally  used  to  connect  all  these  at 
the  centre,  where  they  formed  star  patterns,  and  other  complicated 
but  beautiful  ornaments  of  the  vault.  These  last,  however,  are  rare 
and  exceptional  in  French  vaulting,  though  they  were  treated  by  the 
English  architects  with  such  success  that  we  wonder  they  were  not 
more  generally  adopted  in  France.  The  most  probable  explanation 
appears  to  be  that  the  French  architects  depended  more  on  color 
than  on  relief  for  the  effect  of  their  vaults,  while  in  England  color 


Bk.  11.  Ch.  X. 


BUTTRESSES. 


573: 


was  sparingly  used,  its  place  being  supplied  by  constructive  carving. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  comparative  merits  of  the  two  methods 
when  first  used,  the  English  vaults  have  a  great  advantage  now, 
inasmuch  as  the  carving  remains,  while  the  paintings  of  the  others 
have  perished,  and  we  have  no  means  left  of  judging  of  their  original 
effect. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  features  of  French  vaulting,  almost 
entirely  unknown  in  this  country,  is  the  great  polygonal  vault  of  the 
semi-dome  of  the  chevet,  which  as  an  arcliitectural  object  few  will  be 
disinclined  to  admit  is,  with  its  walls  of  painted  glass  and  its  light 
constructive  roof,  a  far  more  beautiful  thing  tlian  the  i)lain  semi- 
dome  of  the  basilican  apse,  notwithstanding  its  mosaics.  Still,  as 
the  French  used  it,  they  never  quite  surmounted  the  difficulties  of 
its  construction  ;  and  in  their  excessive  desire  to  do  away  with  all 
solid  wall,  and  to  get  the  greatest  possible  surface  for  painted  glass, 
they  often  distorted  these  vaults  in  a  very  unpleasing  manner. 

The  chevet  of  Pontigny  (Woodcut  No.  409)  presents  a  good  ex- 
ample of  the  early  form  of  vault,  which,  owing  to  the  small  size  of 
the  windows  and  -general  sobriety  of  the  composition,  avoids  the 
defects  above  alluded  to.  Of  the  latter  examples  there  are  few, 
except  that  of  Souvigny,  represented  in  Woodcut  No.  427,  where  the 
difficulty  has  been  entirely  conquered  by  constructing  the  spandrils 
with  pierced  tracery,  so  that  tlie  vault  virtually  springs  from  nearly 
the  same  height  as  the  arch  of  the  windows,  and  a  very  sliglit 
improvement  would,  have  made  this  not  only  constructively,  but 
artistically  perfect.  This  is  -a  solitary  specimen,  and  one  which, 
though  among  the  most  beautiful  suggestions  of  Gothic  art,  has  found 
no  admirers  or  at  least  no  imitators. 

Notwithstanding  this  difficulty  of  construction!,  these  pierced  semi- 
domes  are  not  only  tlie  best  specimens  of  French  vaulting,  but  are 
among  the  most  beautiful  inventions  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  form 
a  finer  termination  to  the  cathedral  vista  than  either  the  great 
windows  of  the  English,  or  the  wonderful  rose  windows  of  the 
French  cathedrals. 

Buttresses. 

The  employment  of  buttresses  was  a  constructive  expedient  that 
followed  almost  indispensably  on  the  use  of  vaults  for  the  roofing  of 
churches.  It  was  necessary  either  to  employ  enormously  thick  walls  to 
resist  the  thrust,  or  to  support  them  by  some  more  scientific  arrange- 
ment of- the  materials.  The  theory  of  the  buttress  will  be  easily  under- 
stood from  the  diagram  (Woodcut  No.  428),  representing  seven  blocks 
or  masses  of  masonry,  disposed  first  so  as  to  form  a  continuous  wall, 
but  which  evidently  affords  very  little  resistance  to  a  thrust  or  push 
tending  to  overturn  it  from  within.    The  left-hand  arrangement  is,. 


574 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  ir. 


 ^  -J 


Diagram  of  But- 
tresses. 


from  the  additional  breadth  of  base  in  the  direction  of  the  thrust, 
n'luch  less  liable  to  fall  outwards,  provided  the  distance  of  the  blocks 
from  one  another  is  not  too  great,  and  the  mass 
of  the  vault  does  not  press  heavily  on  the  inter- 
mediate space.  This  last  difhculty  was  so  mucli 
felt  by  the  earlier  French  architects  that,  as  we 
have  seen  in  the  South  of  France  especially,  they 
used  the  roof  of  the  side-aisle  as  a  continuous 
bu^ttress  to  resist  the  thrust  of  their  tunnel-vault. 
It  was  surmounted  also  by  the  introduction  of 
intersecting  vaults,  inasmuch  as  by  this  expedient 
all  the  thrusts  were  collected  together  at  a  point 
over  each  pier,  and  a  resisting  mass  applied  on 
that  one  point  was  sufficient  to  give  all  the  stability  required.  This, 
and  the  desire  of  raising  the  lights  as  high  as  possible  into  the 
roof,  were  the  principal  causes  that  brought  this  form  of  vaulting 

into  general  use ;  still  it  has  not  yet  been 
sliown  that  the  continuous  vault  is  not 
artistically  the  more  beautiful  of  the  two 
forms,  if  not  constructively  so  also. 

There  w^as  yet  another  difficulty  to  be 
mastered,  which  was  that  the  principal 
vault  to  be  abutted  was  that  over  the 
nave  or  central  part  of  the  church,  and 
buttresses  of  the  requisite  depth  would 
have  filled  up  the  side-aisles  entirely.  The 
difficulty  first  j)resented  itself  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  basilica  of  jNfaxentius  (Woodcut 
No.  20'J),  and  was  there  got  over  in  some- 
thing like  the  manner  practically  adopted 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  except  that  the  arch 
was  there  carried  inside,  whereas  the 
Gothic  architects  threw  the  abutting  arch 
across  on  the  outside  and  above  the  roof. 

Several  of  tlie  i)revious  woodcuts^  show^ 
the  system  of  flying  buttresses  in  various 
stages  of  advancement.  The  view  of  one 
of  those  of  the  choir  of  St.  Ouen  (No.  429) 
exhibits  the  system  in  its  greatest  degree 
of  development.  Here  there  are  two  ver- 
tical and  two  flying  buttresses,  forming  a 
system  of  great  lightness,  but  at  the  same  time  of  immense  construct- 
ive strength,  and  when  used  sparingly  and  with  elegance  as  in  this 


42St.  Flying  Buttress  ol  8t.  Oueii. 
(From  Batissier.  "  Kistoire 
ilel'Art.") 


*  See  Woodcuts  Nos.  387,  395,  407,  etc. 


Bk.  11.  Cii.  X. 


BUTTRESSES. 


575 


instance,  constituting  an  object  of  great  beauty.  Tlie  abuse  of  tliis 
expedient,  as  in  the  cathedral  at  Cologne  and  elsewhere,  went  very 
far  to  mar  the  proper  effect. 

The  cathedral  at  Chartres  presents  a  singular  l)ut  very  beautifii 
instance  of  an  earlier  form  of  flying  buttress  ;  there  the  immense  span 
of  the  central  vault  put  the  architects  on  their  mettle  to  provide  a 
suflicient  abutment,  and  they  did  it  by  building  what  was  literally 
an  open  Avail  across  the  aisle  (see  Woodcut  No.  394),  strongly  arched, 
and  the  arches  connected  by  short,  strong  pillars  radiating  with  the 
voussoirs  of  the  arch.  Nothing  could  well  be  stronger  and  more 
scientific  than  this,  but  the  absence  of  perpendicularity  in  the  pillars 
was  unpleasing  to  the  eye  then  as  now,  and  tlie  contrivance  was  never 
repeated. 

A  far  more  pleasing  form  was  that  adopted  afterwards  at  Amiens 
(Woodcut  No.  430)  and  elsewhere,  where  a  series  of  small  traceried 
arches  stand  on  the  lower  flying 
buttress,  and  su])port  the  upper, 
which  is  straight-lined.  Even 
here,  however,  the  difficulty  is 
not  quite  got  over ;  the  unequal 
height  of  these  connecting 
arches,  and  the  awkward  angle 
which  the  lower  supports  make 
Avitli  the  curvilinear  form  on 
which  they  rest,  deprive  them 
of  that  constructive  propriety 
which  alone  secures  a  perfectly 
satisfactory  result  in  architect- 
ure. The  problem,  indeed,  is  one 
which  the  French  never  thor- 
oughly solved,  though  they 
bestowed  immense  pains  upon  it. 
Brilliant  as  the  effect  sometimes 
is  of  the  immense  mass  of  pin- 
nacles and  flying  buttresses,  they 

are  seldom  so  put  together  as  to  leave  an  entirely  satisfactory  result  on 
the  mind  of  the  spectator.  Taken  all  in  all,  perhaps  the  most  pleasing 
example  is  that  of  Rheims  (Woodcut  No.  395)  —  those  on  each  side  of 
the  nave  especially  —  where  two  bold  simple  arches  transmit  the 
pressure  from  a  bold  exquisitely  pinnacled  buttress  to  the  sides  of  the 
clerestory,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  no  doubt  whatever  either 
as  to  their  purpose  or  their  sufficiency  to  accomplish  their  object. 

Notwithstanding  the  beauty  Avhich  the  French  attained  in  their 
flying  buttresses,  it  is  still  a  question  whether  they  did  not  carry  this 
feature  too  far.    It  must  be  confessed  that  there  is  a  tendency  in  the 


430.  Flving  Buttres, 


at  Amiens.  (  From  Chapuy.^ 


576 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


abuse  of  the  system  to  confuse  the  outlines  and  to  injure  the  true 
architectural  effect  of  the  exterior.  Internally  it  no  doubt  enabled 
them  to  lighten  their  piers  and  increase  the  size  of  their  windows  to 
an  unlimited  extent,  and  to  judge  fairly  we  must  balance  between  the 
gain  to  the  interior,  and  tlie  external  disadvantages.  This  we  shall 
be  better  able  to  do  when  considering  the  next  constructive  expedient, 
which  was  that  of  the  introduction  of  pinnacles 

Pinnacles. 

The  use  of  pinnacles,  considered  independently  of  their  ornamental 
purposes,  is  evident  enough.  It  is  obvious  that  a  wall  or  pillar  which 
has  to  resist  the  thrust  of  a  vault  or  any  other  power  exerted  laterally, 
depends  for  its  stability  on  its  thickness,  its  solidity,  and  generally 
on  its  lateral  strength.  A  material  consideration,  as  affecting  this 
solidity,  is  that  of  weight.  The  most  frequent  use  of  pinnacles  by  the 
French  was  to  surmount  the  piers  from  whicli  the  flying  buttresses 
sprang.  To  these  piers  weight  and  solidity  were  thus  imparted, 
rendering  them  a  sufficiently  steady  abutment  to  the  flying  arches, 
which  in  their  turn  abutted  the  central  vaults. 

It  must  be  understood  that  these  expedients  of  buttresses  and 
pinnacles  were  only  employed  to  suj^port  the  central  roof  of  the 
nave.  The  vaults  of  the  aisles  were  so  narrow  as  not  to  require  any 
elaborate  system  of  abutments  for  their  support  —  the  ordinary  thick- 
ness of  the  walls  would  have  sufiiced  for  that  purpose  ;  but  they  also  had 
the  advantage  of  the  use  of  the  supports  designed  for  the  larger  vaults. 

As  a  general  rule  the  English  architects  never  hesitated  to  Aveight 
their  walls  so  as  to  apply  the  resistance  directly  on  the  point  required, 
and  not  only  adorned  the  roofs  of  their  churches  with  pinnacles,  but 
raised  towers  and  lanterns  on  the  intersections  on  all  occasions.  The 
French,  on  the  other  hand,  always  preferred  placing  these  objects,  not 
on  their  churches,  but  rather  grouped  around  them,  and  springing 
from  the  ground.  This,  it  is  true,  enabled  them  to  indulge  in  height 
and  lightness  internally  to  an  extent  unknown  in  England.  This 
extravagance  proved  prejudicial  to  the  true  effect  even  of  the  interior, 
while  externally  the  system  was  very  destructive  of  grace  and  har- 
mony. A  French  cathedral  is  generally  solid  and  simple,  as  high 
as  the  parapet  of  the  side-aisles,  but  above  this  base  the  forest  of 
pinnacles  and  buttresses  that  spring  from  it  entirely  obscure  the 
clerestory,  and  confuse  its  lines.  Above  this  again  the  great  mass  and 
simple  form  of  the  high  steep  roof,  unbroken  by  pinnacles  or  other  orna- 
ments, contrasts  unpleasingly  with  the  lightness  and  confused  lines  im- 
mediately below  it.  This  inconsistency  tends  to  mar  the  beauty  of 
French  cathedrals,  and  even  of  their  churches,  though  in  the  smaller 
buildings  the  effect  is  less  glaring  owing  to  the  smallness  of  the  parts. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  X. 


SPIRES. 


577 


Spires. 

An  easy  transition  leads  from  pinnacles  to  spires,  the  latter  being 
but  the  perfect  development  of  the  former,  and  each  requiring  the 
^issistance  of  the  other  in  producing  a  thoroughly  liarmonious  effect. 


431.    St.  Piei-re,  Caen.    (From  Cliapuy.) 

^till  their  uses  were  widely  different,  for  the  spire  never  was  a  con- 
structive expedient  or  useful  in  any  way.  Indeed,  of  all  architectural 
features,  it  is  the  one  perhaps  to  which  it  is  least  easy  to  apply  any 
utilitarian  rule. 

Towers  were  originally  introduced  in  Christian  edifices  partly  as 
VOL.  I. —  .37 


578 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Fakt  II, 


bell-towers,  partly  as  symbols  of  power,  and  sometimes  perhaps  as 
fortifications,  to  which  may  be  added  the  general  purpose  of  orna- 
menting the  edifices  to  which  they  were  attached,  and  giving  to  them 
that  dignity  which  elevation  always  conveys. 

From  the  tower  the  spire  arose  first  as  a  wooden  roof,  and  as 

height  was  one  of  the 
great  objects  to  be  at- 
tained in  building  the 
tower,  it  was  natural 
to  eke  this  out  by 
giving  the  roof  an 
exaggerated  elevation 
beyond  what  was  actu- 
ally required  as  a  mere 
protection  from  the 
weather.  Wlien  once 
the  idea  was  conceived 
of  rendering  it  an  or- 
namental feature,  tlie 
architects  were  not 
long  in  carrying  it  out. 
The  first  and  most  ob- 
vious step  was  tliat  of 
cutting  off  the  angles, 
making  it  an  octagon, 
and  carrying  up  the' 
angles  of  the  tower  by 
pinnacles,  with  a  view 
to  softening  the  transi- 
tion between  the  per- 
pendicular and  sloping 
part,  and  reducing  it 
again  to  harmony. 

One  of  the  earliest 
examples  in  whicli  this 
transition  is  success- 
fully accomplished  is 
in  the  old  spire  at 
Chartres  (Woodcut 
No.  393)  ;  the  change 
from  the  square  to  the  octagon,  and  from  the  tower  to  the  pyramid, 
being  managed  with  great  felicity.  The  western  spires  of  St.  Stephen's 
abbey  at  Caen  (Woodcut  No.  379);  though  added  in  the  age  of  pointed 
Gothic  to  towers  of  an  earlier  age,  are  also  pleasing  specimens.  But 
perhaps  one  of  the  very  best  in  France,  for  its  size  and  age,  is  that 


432.   Lantern,  St.  Onen,  Kouen.    (From  a  print  by  Cliapuy.) 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  X. 


SPIRES. 


of  St.  Pierre  ut  Caen  (Woodcut  No.  431),  uniting  in  itself  all  tlie 
properties  of  a  good  d'esign  without  eitlier  poverty  or  extravagance. 
The  little  lantern  of  Ste.  Marie  de  I'Epine  (Woodcut  No.  410),  though 
small,  is  as  graceful  an  object  as  can  well  be  designed ;  and  the  new 
spire  at  Chartres  (Woodcut  No.  393),  as  before  remarked,  is,  except 
as  regards  the  defects  inherent  in  its  age,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in 
Europe. 

This  feature  is  nevertheless,  it  must  be  confessed,  rarer  in  France 
than  might  be  expected.  This  is  perhaps  owing  to  many  spires  having 
been,  of  wood,  to  their  having  been  allowed  to  decay,  and  to  their 
removal ;  while,  in  other  instances,  it  is  certain  that  the  design  of 
erecting  them  has  been  abandoned  in  consequence  of  the  tower,  when 
finished,  having  been  found  insufficient  to  bear  their  weight. 

The  ruined  church  of  St.  John  at  Soissons  has  two,  which  are  still 
of  great  beauty.  At  Bayeux  are  two  others,  not  very  beautiful  in 
themselves,  but  which  group  pleasingly  with  a  central  lantern  of  the 
Renaissance  age.  And  at  Coutances  there  are  two  others  of  the  best 
age  (Woodcut  No.  400),  which  combined  with  a  central  octagonal 
lantern  make  one  of  the  most  beautiful  groups  of  towers  in  France. 
Here  the  pitch  of  the  roof  is  very  low,  and  altogether  the  external 
design  of  the  building  is  much  more  in  accordance  with  the  canons  of 
art  ])revalent  on  this  side  of  the  Channel  than  with  those  which  found 
favor  in  France. 

Of  the  earlier  French  lanterns,  this  at  Coutances  is  perhaps  the 
best  specimen  to  be  found  :  of  the  latter  class  there  is  none  finer  than 
that  of  St.  Ouen  (Woodcut  No.  43:^)  ;  and  had  the  Avestern  towers 
been  com])leted  in  the  same  charactei-,  in  accordance  with  the  original 
design,  the  towers  of  this  church  would  ])robably  be  unrivalled. 
Even  alone  the  lantern  is  a  very  noble  architectural  feature,  and 
appropriate  to  its  position,  though  some  of  the  details  mark  the 
lateness  of  the  age  in  which  it  was  erected. 

Notwithstanding  the  beauty  of  these  examples,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  the  French  architects  Avere  not  so  happy  in  their  designs 
of  spires  and  lanterns  as  they  were  in  many  other  features. 

It  would  be  in  A'ain  to  attem])t  to  enumerate  all  the  smaller 
decorative  features  that  crowd  every  j^art  of  the  Gothic  churches 
of  France,  many  of  which,  indeed,  belong  more  to  the  department  of 
the  sculptor  than  to  that  of  the  architect,  though  the  two  are  so 
intimately  interwoven  that  it  is  impossible  to  draw^  the  line  between 
them.  It  is,  however,  to  the  extreme  care  bestowed  on  these  details 
and  their  extraordinary  elaboration  that  the  Gothic  churches  of  the 
best  age  owe  at  least  half  their  effect.  There  are  many  churches  in 
Italy  of  the  Gothic  and  Renaissance  ages,  larger  and  grander  in  their 
proportions  than  some  of  the  best  French  examples,  but  they  fail  to 


580 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  II, 


produce  a  similar  effect  because  these  details  are  all  —  if  the  expression 
may  be  used  —  luachine-made.     The  same  foriiis  and  ornaments  are 

repeated  throughout,  and  too  frequently 
borrowed  from  some  other  place  without 
any  evidence  of  thought  or  fitness  in 
their  application,  and  consequently  call 
up  no  responsive  feeling  in  the  mind 
of  the  spectator.  On  this  side  of  the 
Alps,  in  the  best  age,  every  moulding, 
every  detail,  exhibits  an  amount  of 
thought  combined  with  novelty,  and  is 
always  so  appropriate  to  the  place  or 
use  to  which  it  is  applied,  that  it  never 
fails  to  produce  the  most  pleasing  effect, 
and  to  heighten  to  a  great  extent  the 
beauty  of  the  building  in  which  it  is 
found.  The  corbel,  for  instance,  repre- 
sented in  Woodcut  No.  433  is  as  much  a 
niche  for  the  statue  as  a  bracket  to 
support  the  ends  of  the  ribs  of  the  vaults, 
and  is  one  of  the  thousand  instances 
which  are  met  with  everywhere  in  Gothic  art  of  that  happy  mixture 
of  the  arts  of  the  mason,  the  carver,  and  tlie  sculptor,  which,  when  suc- 
cessfully combined, 
})roduce  a  true  artistic 
effect.  These  combina- 
tions are  so  numerous 
and  so  varied  that  it 
would  be  hopeless  to 
attempt  to  classify 
them,  or  even  to  at- 
tempt to  illustrate  the 
varieties  found  in  any 
single  cathedral. J 
The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  capitals  of  the  pillars,  which  in  all  the  best  buildings  vary 
with  every  shaft,  and  appear  to  have  been  executed,  after  the  archi- 
tect had  finished  his  labors,  by  artists  of  a  very  high  class.  In  the 
best  age,  in  France  at  least,  as  in  the  examples  from  Rheims,  shown  in 


433.   Corbel.    (From  Didron. 
"  Annales  Arch^ologiques.") 


Capitals  from  Klieims. 


'  M.  Viollet  Le  Due's  Dictionnaire 
[V Architecture  "  contains  several  hun- 
dred examples  of  these  minor  architect- 
ural details  of  French  Mediaeval  archi- 
tecture. All  are  there  drawn  with  skill, 
-and  engraved  with  exquisite  taste.  They 


form  a  wonderful  illustration  of  the  ex- 
uberance of  fancy  and  fertility  of  inven- 
tion of  the  French  architects  in  those 
days.  The  limits  of  this  work  do  not 
admit  of  more  than  a  mere  passinsj  allu- 
sion to  this  most  fascinating  subject. 


13k.  11.  Ch.  X. 


CONSTRUCTION. 


581 


Woodcut  No.  434,  they  would  appear  to  have  retained  a  reminiscence 
of  the  Roman  Corinthian  order,  but  to  have  used  it  with  a  freedom 
entirely  their  own. 

Construction. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  exigencies  of  a  Gothic  cathedral  were 
a  stone  roof,  a  glass  wall,  and  as  great  an  amount  of  space  on  the 
floor,  as  little  encumbered  with  pillars  and  points  of  support,  as  could 
be  obtained.  The  two  first  of  these  points  have  been  sufficiently 
insisted  upon  in  the  preceding  pages ;  the  last,  however,  demands  a 
few  more  remarks,  as  the  success  achieved  by  the  masons  in  the 
Middle  Ages  in  this  respect  was  one  of  their  chief  merits,  though  it 
was  but  a  mechanical  merit  after  all,  and  one  in  which  they  hardly 
surpassed  their  masters,  the  Romans.  The  basilica  of  Maxentius,  for 
instance,  covers  a  space  of  68,000  square  feet,  or  about  the  average 
size  of  a  French  cathedral,  and  the  points  of  support,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  piers  and  wall,  occupy  only  6900  square  feet,  or  between  a 
ninth  and  a  tenth  part  of  the  whole  area.  If  we  turn  to  the  great 
cathedral  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  we  find  the  points  of  support  occu- 
pying more  than  one-fourth  of  the  whole  area,  though  built  on  the 
model,  and  almost  a  copy,  of  the  Roman  basilica.  At  St.  Mary's  at 
Florence  they  occupy  one-fifth ;  and  in  St.  Paul's,  London,  and  the 
Pantheon  at  Paris,  the  walls  and  pillars  occupy,  in  the  first  rather 
tnore,  in  the  other  rather  less,  than  one-sixth.  If  from  these  we  turn 
to  some  of  the  Mediaeval  examples,  we  find  for  instance  at 


Tlie  whole  area.  Solid. 

Bourges .    .    .  61,591  .    .  .  11,908  . 

Chartres     .    .  68,261  .    .  .    8,888  . 

Paris  .    .    .    .  64,108  .    .  .  7,852  . 

St.  Ouen    .    .  47,107  .  •  .  .  4,637  . 


Ratio. 

.    .  0-181,  or  between  l-5th  and  1-6 th. 
.    .  0-130,        "  l-8th. 
.    .  0-122,        "        l-8tli  and  l-9tli. 
.    .  0-090,        "         1-lOthand  1-11  th, 


The  figures,  however,  at  Bourges,  include  a  heavy  and  extended 
porch  not  belonging  to  the  original  design,  which  if  omitted  would 
reduce  the  fractional  proportion  considerably ;  and  if  the  unbuilt 
towers  of  St.  Ouen  were  excluded,  the  proportion  of  the  points  of 
support  to  the  area  would  be  less  than  one-twelfth. 

Our  best  English  examples  show  a  proportion  of  rather  less  than 
one-tenth,  and  though  they  have  not  the  great  height  and  wide- 
spreading  vaults  of  the  French  cathedrals,  their  spires  and  pinnacles 
externally  perhaps  more  than  counterbalance  this.  Taken  altogether 
it  may  generally  be  stated  that  one-tenth  is  about  the  proportion  in 
the  best  Gothic  churches  of  the  best  age.  When  we  find  it  exceed 
this,  it  is  obvious  that  the  lightness  of  the  walls  and  pillars  has  been 
carried  to  excess,  and  even  in  St.  Ouen,  if  there  is  an  error,  it  is  on 
this  side.  There  can  be  no  question  that  to  produce  a  satisfactory 
effect  a  church  requires  solidity,  and  apparent  as  well  as  real  strength ; 


582 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


for,  without  affecting  the  extreme  massiveness  of  Egyptian  art,  witli 
its  wonderful  expression  of  power  and  durability,  there  is  an  opposite 
extreme  far  more  prejudicial  to  true  architectural  effect  in  parading, 
as  it  were,  mechanical  contrivances  of  construction,  so  as  to  gain  the 
utmost  utilitarian  effect  with  the  least  possible  expenditure  of  means. 
This  the  Egyptians  utterly  despised  and  rejected,  and  heaped  mass 
on  mass,  even  at  the  expense  of  any  convenience  or  use  for  which 
the  building  might  have  been  designed.  The  French  architects,  on 
the  other  hand,  made  it  their  study  to  dispense  with  every  ton  of 
stone  they  could  possibly  lay  aside.  This  system  they  undoubtedly 
carried  too  far,  for,  without  looking  at  such  extreme  examples  as  the 
nave  of  Beauvais  or  St.  Ouen,  everywhere  in  France  we  find  a  degree 
of  airy  lightness  and  tenuity  of  parts  destructive  of  many  of  the 
most  important  conditions  of  architectural  excellence. 

Furniture  of  Churches. 

Little  less  thought  and  expense  were  ])robably  bestowed  upon  what 
we  may  call  the  furnishing  of  Gothic  cliurches  than  upon  the  fabrics 
themselves.  Thougli  the  objects  included  in  this  denomination  were 
altogether  of  a  lower  class  of  art,  they  were  still  essential  parts  of 
the  whole  design,  and  we  cannot  fairly  judge  of  the  buildings  them- 
selves without  at  least  endeavoring  to  supply  their  minor  arrange- 
ments. 

It  is  not  easy  to  do  this  in  France,  nor,  indeed,  in  any  part  of 
Europe,  as  no  one  church  or  chapel  displays  at  the  present  day  all  the 
wealth  and  ornament  which  once  belonged  to  it. 

There  is  scarcely  a  single  church  in  France  with  its  original  altar, 
the  most  sacred  and  therefore  generally  the  most  richly  adorned  part 
of  the  whole.  These  have  either  been  plundered  by  the  Huguenots, 
rebuilt  in  the  execrable  taste  of  the  age  of  Louis  .XIV.,  or  destroyed 
during  the  Revolution. 

The  cathedrals  of  Amiens  and  Rouen  are  among  the  few  which 
retain  their  original  stalls ;  and  the  enclosure  of  the  choir  at  Chartres 
is  one  of  the  most  elaborate  pieces  of  ornamental  sculpture  to  be 
found.  That  at  Alby  has  been  before  alluded  to,  and  fragments  of 
this  feature  still  exist  in  many  cathedrals. 

The  Rood-screens;  or  Juhes^  which  almost  all  French  churches  once 
possessed,  are  rarer  than  even  the  other  parts  of  these  enclosures. 
A  good  example  of  them  is  found  in  the  church  of  the  Madelaine  at 
Troyes  (Woodcut  No.  435),  which  gives  a  favorable  idea  of  the  ricli- 
ness  of  decoration  that  was  sometimes  lavished  on  these  parts.  Though 
late  in  age,  and  aiming  at  the  false  mode  of  construction  which  was 
prevalent  at  the  time  of  its  execution,  it  displays  so  much  elegance  as 
to  disarm  criticism.  It  makes  us,  too,  regret  the  loss  of  the  rood-screens 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  X. 


FUilNITURE  OF  CHURCHES. 


583 


of  St.  Ouen's  (of  whicli  we  can  alone  judge  from  drawings)  and  of  the 
larger  cathedrals ;  though  of  these  we  are  able  to  form  some  idea  by 
following  out  the  design  of  the  lateral  screens,  of  which  they  formed 
a  part. 

If  to  these  we  add  the  altars  of  the  minor  chapels,  with  the  screens 
that  divided  them  from  the  nave,  the  tombs  of  wealthy  prelates  and 
nobles,  the  organ  galleries,  with  their  spiral  stairs  and  richly-carved 


435.   Kood-Screeii  fi'Oiu  the  Madelaiiie  at  Ti'oyes.    (From  Ai'uaud,  "  Voyage  dans  rAube."X 


Instrument  cases,  and  all  the  numberless  treasures  of  art  accumulated 
by  wealth  and  piety,  Ave  may  form  some  idea  of  what  a  Mediaeval 
cathedral  really  was,  though  scarcely  one  now  exists  in  any  part  of 
Europe  in  an  entire  state. 

Domestic  Architecture. 
It  is  probable  that  specimens  remain  sufficient  to  elucidate  in  an 
archaeological  point  of  view  the  progress  of  domestic  architecture  in 


584 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


takt  n. 


France,  and  tliereby  to  illustrate  the  early  manners  and  customs  of 
tlie  people ;  but  these  remains  are  much  less  magnificent  and  are 
less  perfectly  preserved  than  the  churches  and  cathedrals,  and  have 
consequently  received  comparatively  little  attention. 

Had  any  of  the  royal  palaces  been  preserved  to  our  day,  or  even 
any  of  the  greater  municipal  buildings,  the  case  might  have  been 
different.  The  former  have,  however,  perished,  without  an  exception  ; 
and  as  regards  the  latter,  France  seems  always  to  have  presented  a 
remarkable  contrast  to  the  neighboring  country  of  Flanders. 

No  town  in  France  proper  seems  to  have  possessed  in  the  Middle 
Ages  either  a  municipality  of  importance  or  a  town-hall  of  any  note. 
Those  found  within  its  present  boundaries  belonged  to  Flanders  or 
Germany  at  the  time  of  their  erection. 

In  a  work  like  the  present,  which  is  barely  sufficient  in  extent  to  . 
admit  of  all  the  great  typical  examples  of  architectural  art  being 
enumerated,  much  less  described,  it  is  evident  that  to  domestic  art 
a  very  subordinate  position  must  be  assigned.  Perhaps  it  ought  to 
be  omitted  altogether.  There  are,  however,  so  many  beauties  in  even 
the  most  insignificant  productions  of  the  great  ages,  that  it  may  be 
ex2:)edient  at  least  to  direct  attention  to  the  subject,  and  the  three 
examples  here  given  may  serve  to  illustrate  the  forms  of  the  art  at 
the  tliree  great  epochs  of  the  French  Gothic  style. 

The  first  (Woodcut  No.  436)  is  from  a  house  at  Cluny,  and  ex- 
hibits the  round-arched  arcade  with  its  alternate  single  and  coupled 

columns,  Avhich  arrangement 
was  usual  at  that  period,  and 
of  wliich  examples  are  found  all 
over  the  South  of  France,  and 
as  far  north  at  least  as  Auxerre. 

The  second  (Woodcut  No. 
437)  represents  a  house  at  Yrieix, 
and  shows  the  pointed  Gothic 
style  in  its  period  of  greatest  de- 
velopment ;  and  although  the 
openings  are  of  larger  extent 
than  would  be  convenient  in  this 
climate,  they  are  not  .  more  so 
than  would  be  suitable,  while 
they  give,  in  the  South  of  France, 
great  lightness  and  elegance  to 
the  facade.  The  third  example 
is  from  the  portal  of  the  Ducal  Palace  at  Nancy  (Woodcut  No.  438), 
and  is  an  instance  of  the  form  the  style  took  when  on  the  verge 
of  the  Renaissance.  It  is  not  without  elegance,  though  somewhat 
strange  and  unmeaning,  and,  except  as  regards  the  ba^enies^  the 


436.   House  at  Cluuy.   (From  Gailhabaud.) 


Bk.  II.  Cii.  X. 


DOMESTIC  ARCIIITECTUIIE. 


585 


parts  generally  seem  designed  solely  for  ornament  without  any  con- 
structive or  utilitarian  motive. 

One  of  the  most  extensive  as  well  as  one  of  the  best  specimens 
of  French  domestic  architecture  is  the  house  of  Jacques  Cceur,  at 
Bourges,  now  used  as  the  town-hall.  It  was  built  by  the  wealthy 
but  ill-used  banker  of  Charles  VII.,  and  every  part  of  it  shows 
evidence  of  careful  design  and  elaborate  execution ;  it  was  erected, 
too,  at  an  age  before  the  style  had  become  entirely  debased,  and  as 
a  private  residence  situated  in  a  town,  and  therefore  without  any 
attempt  at  fortification,  is  the  best  that  France  now  possesses. 


437.    House  at  Yrieix.    (From  Gailliabaud.) 


The  chateau  of  Meillan  (Clier)  is  nearly  a  repetition  of  the  same 
design,  but  at  least  a  hundred  years  more  modern. 

Rouen  possesses  several  examples  of  domestic  architecture  of  a  late 
date  ;  so  does  Paris  —  and  among  others,  the  celebrated  Hotel  de  Cluny. 
Few  of  the  great  towns  are,  however,  without  fragments  of  some  sort, 
but  hardly  any  are  of  sufficient  importance  to  deserve  se2:>arate  notice 
or  illustration. 

France  is  not  so  rich  as  either  Germany  or  England  m  specimens 
of  castellated  architecture.  This  does  not  apparently  arise  from  the 
fact  of  no  castles  having  been  built  during  the  Middle  Ages,  but  rather 
from  their  having  been  pulled  down  to  make  way  for  more  convenient 
dwellings  after  the  accession  of  Francis  I.,  and  even  before  his  time, 
when  they  had  ceased  to  be  of  any  use.  Still  the  chateaux  of  Pierre- 
fonds  and  Coucy  are  in  their  own  class  as  fine  as  anything  to  be  found 
elsewhere.    The  circular  keep  of  the  latter  castle  is  perhaps  unique. 


58G 


FRENCH  ARCHITECTURE. 


Taut  II. 


both  from  its  form  and  dimensions  ;  but  being  entirely  gutted  inside, 
its  architectural  features  are  gone,  and  it  is  now  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  it  was  originally  arranged,  and  by  what  means  it  was 
lighted  and  rendered  habitable. ^ 

Tancarville  still  retains  some  of  the  original  features  of  its  fortifi- 
cations as  do  also  the  castles  of  Falaise  and  Gaillard. 


438.    Portal  of  the  Ducal  Palace  at  Nancy.    (From  Dusomerard.) 


The  keeps  of  Vincennes  and  Loches  are  still  remarkable  for  their 
height,  though  they  hai'dly  retain  any  features  which  can  be  called 
strictly  architectural.  In  the  South,  the  fortified  towns  of  Carcassonne 
and  Aigues  Mortes,  and  in  the  North,  Fougeres,  retain  as  much  of  their 


1  Viollet  leDuc,  in  liis  Architecture  |  no  means  explains  how  the  interior  was 
Militaire,"  p.  96,  gives  a  section  of  the  |  lighted,  nor  does  it  accord  with  what  I 
Donjon  at  Coucy,  whicii,  however,  by  i  believe  I  saw  there. 


Bk.  II.  Ch.  X. 


DOMESTIC  ARCHITECTURE. 


587 


walls  and  defences  as  almost  any  place  in  Euroi)e.  The  former  in 
jjarticular,  both  from  its  situation  and  the  extent  of  its  remains,  gives 
a  singularly  favorable  and  impressive  idea  of  the  grave  majesty  of  an 
ancient  fortalice.  But  for  alterations  and  desecrations  of  all  sorts, 
the  palace  of  the  popes  at  Avignon  would  be  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able castles  in  Europe  :  even  now  its  extent  and  the  raassiveness  of  its 
walls  and  towers  are  most  imposing. 

These  are  all  either  ruins  or  fragments  ;  but  the  Castle  of  Mont  St. 
Michel,  in  Normandy,  retains  nearly  all  the  features  of  a  Mediaival 
fortress  in  sufficient  perfection  to  admit  of  its  being  restored,  in 
imagination  at  least.  The  outer  walls  still  remain,  encircling  the 
village,  which  nestles  under  the  protection  of  the  castle.  The  church 
crowns  the  whole,  and  around  it  are  grouped  the  halls  of  the  knights, 
the  kitchens  and  offices,  and  all  the  appurtenances  of  the  establish- 
ment, intermingled  with  fortifications  and  defensive  precautions  that 
must  have  made  the  place  nearly  impregnable  against  such  engines  of 
war  as  existed  when  it  w^as  erected,  even  irrespective  of  its  sea-girt 
position. 


588 


BELGIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


BOOK  III. 
BELGIUM  AND  HOLLAND. 

CHAPTER  I. 

CONTENTS. 

Historical  Notice  —  Old  Churches  —  Cathedral  of  Tournay  —  Antwerp  —  St. 

Jacques  at  Liege. 

THE  little  kingdom  of  Belgium  forms  an  architectural  province  as 
distinct  and  in  many  respects  as  interesting  as  any  in  Europe. 
Its  style  does  not,  it  is  true,  possess  that  simplicity,  combined  with 
grandeur,  which  characterizes  the  one  great  united  effort  of  Central 
France,  but  it  is  more  varied  and  picturesque,  and  as  fully  expressive 
of  the  affinities  and  aspirations  of  the  people. 

As  we  may  learn  from  their  language,  the  dominant  race  during 
the  Middle  Ages  spoke  a  dialect  very  closely  allied  to  the  pure  Ger- 
man, which  proclaimed  their  affinity  to  their  neighbors  on  the  Rhine; 
but  what  their  architecture  tells  us,  though  their  language  does  not, 
is  that  there  was  a  very  strong  infusion  of  Celtic  blood  in  their  veins 
which  expresses  itself  in  almost  every  building  they  erected. 

Shortly  after  the  departure  of  the  Romans  the  German  immi- 
grants seem  to  have  completely  overpowered  the  original  Belgae,  and, 
like  true  Aryans,  to  have  divided  themselves  into  a  number  of  separate 
and  independent  municipalities,  with  no  established  capital  and 
acknowledging  no  central  authority.  At  times  these  communities 
did  submit  themselves  to  the  rules  of  Dukes  and  Counts,  but  only  to 
a  very  limited  extent ;  and  for  particular  purposes  they  occasionally 
even  sought  the  protection  of  some  powerful  monarch ;  but  they 
never  relinquished  their  right  of  self-government  nor  fell  under  the 
power  of  feudal  chiefs,  or  of  a  dominant  hierarchy,  to  the  same  extent 
as  prevailed  throughout  nearly  the  Avhole  of  the  rest  of  Europe.  This 
spirit  of  independence  was  sustained  throughout  the  Middle  Ages  by 
the  immense  extension  of  commercial  industry  which  the  fortunate 
position  of  Belgium,  combined  with  the  energy  which  her  inhabitants 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  I. 


HISTORICAL  NOTICE. 


58^ 


enabled  her  to  develop.  While  the  "rest  of  Europe  was  engaged  in 
feudal  wars  and  profitless  crusades,  the  peaceful  burghers  of  the 
Belgian  cities  were  quietly  amassing  that  wealth  which  gave  them 
individually  such  importance  as  free  citizens  of  independent  com- 
munities, and  raised  their  towns,  and  eventually  their  country,  to  the 
state  of  pro'sperity  it  maintained  till  the  destruction  of  their  liberties 
by  the  Spaniards  in  the  16th  century. 

These  historical  circumstances  go  far  to  explain  the  peculiar 
character  observable  in  the  architectural  remains  of  this  country, 
in  which  we  find  no  trace  of  any  combined  national  effort.  Even  tlie 
epoch  of  Charlemagne  passed  over  this  province  without  leaving  any 
impress  on  the  face  of  the  country,  nor  are  there  any  buildings  that 
can  be  said  to  have  been  called  into  existence  by  his  influence  and 
power.  The  great  churches  of  Belgium  seem,  on  the  contrary,  to  have 
been  raised  by  the  individual  exertions  of  the  separate  cities  in  which 
they  are  found,  on  a  scale  commensurate  with  their  several  require- 
ments. The  same  spontaneous  impulse  gave  rise  to  the  town-halls 
and  domestic  edifices,  which  present  so  peculiar  and  fascinating  an 
aspect  of  picturesque  irregularity. 

Even  the  devastation  by  the  Normans  in  the  9th  and  10th 
centuries  seems  to  have  passed  more  lightly  over  this  country  thafi 
any  other  in  the  north  of  Europe.  They  burned  and  destroyed, 
indeed,  many  of  the  more  flourishing  cities,  but  they  did  not  occupy 
them,  and  when  they  were  gone  the  inhabitants  returned,  rebuilt 
their  habitations,  and  resumed  their  habits  of  patient  self-supporting 
labor  ;  and  when  these  inroads  ceased  there  was  nothing  to  stop  the 
onward  career  of  the  most  industrious  and  commercial  community 
then  established  in  Europe. 

In  a  historical  point  of  view,  the  series  of  buildings  is  in  some 
respects  even  more  complete  than  the  wonderful  group  we  have  just 
passed  in  review  in  France.  In  size  the  cathedrals  of  Belgium  are  at 
least  equal  to  those  that  have  just  been  described.  In  general  interest, 
no  cathedral  of  France  exceeds  that  of  Tournay,  none  in  gorgeousness 
that  of  Antwerp ;  and  few  surpass  even  those  of  Louvain,  Mechlin, 
Mons,  Bruges  and  Ghent.  Notwithstanding  their  magnificence,  how- 
ever, it  must  be  confessed  that  the  Belgian  cathedrals  fail  in  all  the 
higher  requisites  of  architectural  design  when  compared  with  those 
on  their  southern  border.  This  was  owing  partly  to  the  art  never 
having  been  in  the  hands  of  a  thoroughly  organized  and  educated 
body  of  clergy  like  that  of  France,  but  more  to  the  ethnographic 
difference  of  race,  which  in  the  first  place  prevented  centralization, 
and  also  rendered  them  less  keen  in  their  appreciation  of  art,  and 
less  influenced  by  its  merits.  From  these  and  other  causes,  their 
ecclesiastical  buildings  do  not  display  that  elegance  of  proportion,  and 
that  beauty  of  well-considered  and  appro])riate  detail,  which  every- 


590 


BELGIAN  ARCHITECTUEE. 


Part  II. 


where  please  and  satisfy  the  mind  in  contemplating  the  cathedrals  of 
France. 

These  remarks  apply  solely  to  ecclesiastical  art.  In  specimens  oi 
the  civil  and  domestic  architecture  of  the  Middle  Ages,  Belgium 
surpasses  all  the  other  countries  of  Europe,  on  this  side  the  Alps, 
put  together.  Her  town-halls  and  markets,  and  the  residences 
of  her  burghers,  still  display  a  degree  of  taste  and  elegance  unsur- 
passed by  anything  of  the  age,  and  remain  to  tliis  day  the  best  index 
of  the  wealth  and  independence  of  the  communities  to  which  they 
belonged. 

All  this  is,  of  course,  only  what  might  be  expected  from  what  we 
know  of  the  ethnograpliic  relations  of  the  people.  An  Aryan  race, 
ioving  independence,  cultivating  self-government,  and  steadily  fol- 
lowing those  courses  which  lead  to  material  well-being  and  wealth  ; 
and  underlying  these  a  Celtic  race,  turbulent  at  times,  loving  art, 
appreciating  its  beauties,  and  clothing  the  municipal  requirements 
with  the  picturesque  graces  of  architectural  design. 

The  difference  between  this  country  and  Central  France  appears  to 
be  that  in  the  latter  country  the  Celtic  element  was  in  excess  of  the 
Aryan,  while  in  Belgium  this  condition  was  reversed,  and  this  at  least 
imprecisely  w^hat  we  find  expressed  in  her  art. 

Of  the  oldest  churches  of  Belgium,  a  large  proportion  are  known  to 
us  only  by  tradition,  they  having  been  pulled  down  to  make  way  for 
the  larger  and  more  splendid  buildings  which  were  demanded  by  the 
continually  increasing  wealth  and  population  of  the  cities.  Of  those 
which  remain,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  interesting  is  that  of  St. 
Vincent  at  Soignies,  built  in  965  by  Bruno,  Archbishop  of  Cologne, 
and  though  probably  not  quite  finished  within  that  century,  it  still 
retains  the  features  of  the  10th  century  more  completely  than  almost 
any  church  in  Europe.  This  church,  that  of  St.  Michele  at  Pavia, 
and  the  Minster  at  Zurich,  constitute  a  trio  very  similar  to  one  another 
in  design  and  in  size,  and  differing  principally  in  the  degree  of  finish 
they  display,  this  being  by  far  the  rudest  in  construction  of  the  three. 
It  possessed  originally  a  western  tower  and  a  central  lantern,  the 
upper  parts  of  both  w^iich  are  modernized.  The  east  end  was  square, 
though  possessing  a  shrine,  the  tomb  of  the  saint  whose  name  it  bears. 
It  may  have  been  altered,  and  is  built  up  on  the  outside  so  as  to  render 
examination  impossible. 

Another  church,  only  slightly  more  modern,  that  of  St.  Gertrude  at 
Nivelles  (Woodcut  No.  439),  presents  the  same  peculiarity,  of  having 
a  square  termination  towards  the  east,  though  it  seems  originally  to 
have  had  an  apse  at  the  west  end,  where  the  facade  was  carried  up  to 
a  considerable  height,  and  adorned  in  the  centre  by  a  square  towei-, 
flanked  by  a  circular  one  on  each  side.     The  latter  retain  their 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  I. 


CATHEDRAL  OF  TOURNAY. 


51)1 


original  form,  though  the  central  tower  was  rebuilt  in  the  15th  century. 
This  church  was  built  in  the  earliest  years  of  the  11th  century,  and  was 
dedicated  in  1045,  the 
Emj)eror  Henry  IV. 
assisting  at  the  cere- 
mony. It  is  a  first- 
class  church  with  two 
transe})ts,  and  remains 
externally  in  all  essen- 
tial particulars  as  then 
built.  The  interior  was 
entirely  des-troyed  in 
the  middle  of  the  last 
century,  which  is  a 
very  great  loss,  al- 
though the  new  ar- 
rangement which  has 
r'ei^laced  it  is  in  itself 
remarkably  well  de- 
signed. 

Passing  over  some 
minor  examples,  we 
come  to  the  cathedral 
of  Tournay,  to  the  architect  and  artist  the  most  interesting  of  the 
province.  It  is  a  first-class  cathedral,  more  than  400  ft.  in  length 
internally,  and  covering  with  its  dependencies  an  area  of  62,525  ft. 
It  consists  of  a  nave,  dedicated  in  1066  ;  of  a  transept,  built  about  the 
year  1146;  the  choir,  which  formed  part  of  this  arrangement,  was 
dedicated  in  1213,  but  gave  place  about  a  century  afterwards  to  that 
now  standing,  which  was  dedicated  in  1338,  so  that  within  itself  it 
contains  a  complete  history  of  the  style ;  and  though  there  is  no 
doubt  considerable  incongruity  in  the  three  specimens  here  brought 
together,  as  they  are  the  best  of  their  respective  classes  in  Belgium, 
the  effect  is  not  unpleasing,  and  their  arrangement  fortunate,  inas- 
much as,  entering  by  the  western  door,  you  pass  first  through  the 
massive  architecture  of  the  11th  to  the  bolder  and  more  expanded 
features  of  the  12th  century,  a  fitting  vestibule  to  the  exaggerated 
forms  which  prevailed  during  the  14th.  In  the  woodcut  (No.  441) 
the  three  styles  are  represented  as  they  stand  ;  but  it  would  require 
far  more  elaborate  illustration  to  do  justice  to  the  beauty  of  the 
deeply  galleried  nave,  which  surpasses  any  specimen  of  Norman 
architecture,  but  which  is  here  eclipsed  by  the  two  remaining  apses 
of  the  transept.  These,  notwithstanding  a  certain  rudeness  of  detail, 
are  certainly  the  finest  productions  of  their  age,  and  are  as  magnifi- 
cent pieces  of  architecture  as  can  be  conceived.    The  choir  is  the 


439.    View  of  West  End  of  Church  at  "Nivelles.    (From  a 
Sketch,  by  the  Author.) 


592 


ELGIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  IL 


least  satisfactory  part  of  the  whole ;  for  though  displaying  a  certain 
beauty  of  proportion,  and  the  most  undoubted  daring  of  construction, 
its  effect  is  frail  and  weak  in  the  extreme.  Still,  if  the  tracery  were 
restored  to  the  windows,  and  these  filled  with  painted  glass,  a  great 
part  of  this  defect  might  be  removed.  At  the  best,  the  chief  merit 
of  this  choir  is  its  clever  and  daring  construction,  but  even  in  this 
the  builder  miscalculated  his  own  strength,  for  it  was  found  necessary 

to  double  the  thickness  of 
all  the  piers  after  they  were 
first  erected.  This  addition 
would  have  been  an  im- 
provement if  it  had  been 
part  of  the  original  design, 
but  as  it  now  is  it  appears 
only  to  betray  the  weakness 
which  it  was  meant  to 
conceal. 

It  is  by  no  means  clear 
that  originally  there  were 
any  entrances  at  the  west 
front ;  at  least  tliere  cer- 
tainly was  no  central  door- 
way ;  and  probably  the 
principal  entrances  were,  as 
in  most  German  churches, 
under  lateral  porches. 

Externally,  the  west 
front  had  neither  the  flank- 
ing towers  of  the  Norman 
church,  nor  the  frontispiece 
usual  in  Germany,  but  ter- 
minated in  a  gable  the 
height  of  the  wooden  roof 
of  the  nave.  The  original 
church  was  triapsal,  and  a 
large  square  tower  adorned 
the  intersection  of  the  nave 
and  transept,  which  was  originally  surrounded  by  six  tall  square 
towers,  two  belonging  to  each  of  the  apses.  Four  of  these  still  exist, 
and  with  the  remaining  part  of  the  central  tower  form  as  noble  a 
group  as  is  to  be  found  in  any  church  of  this  province.  In  its  triapsal 
state,  its  superior  dimensions  and  the  greater  height  of  its  towers 
must  have  rendered  it  a  more  striking  building  than  even  the 
Apostles'  Church  at  Cologne,  or  indeed  any  other  church  of  its  age. 
Besides  the  churches  already  described,  there  are  a  considerable 


Plan  of  Cathedral  at  Tournay. 
Scale  100  ft.  to  1  in. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  I. 


BELGIAN  CHURCHES. 


51)3 


441. 


Section  of  Central  Portion  of  Cliurcli  at  ToiU'nay, 
looking  South.   Scale  50  ft.  to  1  in. 


number  in  Belgium  belonging  to  tlio  lltli  century,  such  as  St. 
Bartholomew  at  Liege; 
3t.  Servin's,  Maestricht; 
the  church  at  Ruremonde 
(almost  an  exact  coun- 
terpart of  the  Ajwstles' 
Church  at  Cologne),  and 
others  of  more  or  less 
importance  scattered 
over  the  country.  They 
almost  all  possess  the 
peculiarity  of  having  no 
entrance  in  their  west 
fronts,  but  have  instead 
a  massive  screen  or  front- 
ispiece surmounted  by 
two  or  three  towers. 
This  was  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  old  church 
of  St.  Jacques  at  Liege. 
The  church  of  Notre 
Dame  de  Maestricht  pre- 
sents a  somewhat  ex- 
aggerated example  of 
this  description  of  front 
(Woodcut  No.  442).  It 
is  difficult  to  explain  the 
origin  of  this  feature,  nor 
have  we  any  reason  to 
regret  its  abandonment. 
There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  j^roper  j^lace  for 
the  principal  entrance  to 
a  church  is  the  end  op- 
])osite  the  altar,  where 
this  screen  prevented  its 
being  placed. 

Among  the  smaller 
antiquities  of  this  age, 
none  are  perhaps  more 
interesting  than  the  little 
chapel  of  St.  Sang,  at 
Bruges,  built  by  Thierry 
of  Alsace,  on  his  return 
from  the  Holy  Land,  a.d. 

1150  ;  it  is  a  small  double  chapel,  of  a  form  very  common  in  Germany, 


West  Front  of  Notre  Dame  de  Maestricht. 
(From  Schaye's  "  Belgium.") 


594 


BELGIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Pakt  II 


but  less  ornate  than  these  generally  were.  At  one  angle  of  it  are 
two  spires,  represented  in  Woodcut  No.  443  ;  the  more  slender  of  these 

would  not  excite  remark  if  found  in  Cairo 
or  Aleppo,  so  exactly  does  it  take  the 
Eastern  form  ;  the  other,  on  the  contrary, 
seems  to  belong  to  the  16th  or  17th  cen- 
tury:  it  is  only  one,  however,  of  the 
numerous  instances  that  go  to  prove  how 
completely  it  returned,  at  the  period 
called  the  Renaissance,  to  the  point  from 
which  it  started  some  four  or  five  cen- 
turies earlier.  It  returned  with  something- 
more  of  purity  of  detail  and  better  con- 
struction, but  unfortunately  without  tliat 
propriety  of  design  and  grandeur  of  con- 
ception which  mark  even  the  rude  build- 
ings of  the  llenaissance  of  Gothic  art. 

Belgium  is  rich  in  small  specimens  of 
transitional  architecture,  and  few  of  her 
more  extensive  ecclesiastical  establish- 
443.  Spire  oi  the  ciiapei  of  St.  Sang,  mcnts  are  without  some  features  of  this 
sketehlJy'tiie  Author.)     class,  oftcn  of  o'reat  bcautv.  Th 


(From 


class,  often  of  great  beauty,  l  lieir  age 
has  not  yet,  however,  been  determined 
with  anything  like  precision  by  the  Belgian  antiquaries ;  but,  on 
the  whole,  it  seems  that  in  this,  as  in  most  other  respects,  this 
country  followed  the  German  much  more  closely  than  the  French 
type,  hesitating  long  before  it  adopted  tlie  pointed  arch,  and  cling- 
ing to  circular  forms  long  after  it  had 
been  employed  elsewhere,  oscillating 
between  tlie  two  in  a  manner  very 
puzzling,  and  rendering  more  care 
necessary  in  determining  dates  than 
in  most  other  parts  of  Europe.  Be- 
sides this,  none  of  the  Belgian  build- 
ings have  yet  been  edited  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  afford  materials  for  the 
establishment  of  any  certain  rule. 
Perhaps  the  most  interesting  specimen 
of  the  transitional  period,  and  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  mosH  beautiful  ruins 
in  the  country,  is  the  abbey  church 
of  Villers,  near  Genappe,  a  building  338  ft.  in  length  by  67  in  width, 
built  with  all  the  purity  of  what  we  would  call  the  early  English 
style,  but  with  a  degree  of  experimental  imperfection  in  the  tracery 
of  which  I  hardly  know  an  example  elsewhere.    The  representation 


444.   Window  in  Church  at  Villers,  near 
Genappe. 
(From  a  Sketcli  by  the  Author.) 


r.K.  111.  ch.  I. 


TRANSITIONAL  PERIOD. 


595 


here  given  (Woodcut  No.  444)  of  one  of  the  windows  of  the  transept 
will  explain  this;  throughout  it  the  tracery  consists  of  holes  cut  into 
slabs ;  yet  this  churcli  is  said  to  have  been  commenced  in  1225,  and 
only  finished  in  1276.  In  Germany  such  a  date  would  be  probable ; 
in  France  a  similar  specimen  would  be  assigned  to  a  period  from  70 
to  100  years  earlier. 

Among  the  many  efforts  made  in  Belgium  to  get  rid  of  the  awk^ 
Avardness  of  the  pointed  form  for  windows,  was  that  in  the  choir  of 
Notre  Dame  de  la  Chapelle,  at  Brussels  (1216?),  where  the  circular 
tracery  is  inserted  in  a  circular-headed  window,  producing  a  much 
more  pleasing  effect,  both  internally  and  externally,  than  the  pointed 
form,  except  with  reference  to  the  vault,  with  which  it  is  so  little  in 
accordance  that  the  experiment  seems  to  have  been  abandoned,  and 
no  attempt  made  afterwards  to  renew  it. 

Besides  those  already  mentioned,  Belgium  possesses  about  twenty 
first-class  churches  of  pointed  architecture,  all  deserving  attentive 
consideration,  some  of  them  being  almost  unrivalled  edifices  of  their 
class.  Among  the  earliest  of  these  is  the  cathedral  of  Liege,  begun  in 
1189,  exhibiting  the  style  in  great  purity.  It  has  no  western  entrance, 
but,  like  St.  Croix,  St.  Jacques,  and  all  the  principal  churches  of  this 
city,  is  entered  by  side  porches. 

A  little  later  we  have  the  eastern  parts  of  St.  Gudule,  Brussels 
(a.d.  1220),  and  two  other  very  beautiful  churches ;  Notre  Dame  de 
Tongres  (1240),  and  St.  Martin,  Ypres  (1254).  The  latter  is  perhaps 
the  purest  and  best  specimen  of  the  Gothic  of  the  13th  century  in 
Flanders ;  and  of  about  the  same  age  is  the  beautiful  church  of  N.  D. 
de  Dinant.  These  are  almost  the  only  important  specimens  of  tlie 
contemporary  art  of  the  13tli  century,  which  still  excites  our  admira- 
tion in  all  the  principal  cities  of  France.  Almost  all  the  great  cathe- 
drals in  that  country  belong  to  this  age,  which  was  also  so  jDrolific 
of  great  buildings  in  England.  But  Belgium  does  not  seem  to  have 
shared  to  any  great  extent  in  the  impulse  then  given  to  church  archi- 
tecture. Her  buildings  are  spread  pretty  evenly  over  the  whole 
period  from  the  10th  to  the  16th  century,  as  the  steadily  growing 
wealth  of  the  country  demanded  them,  and  but  little  influenced  by 
the  great  political  oscillations  of  her  neighbors. 

In  the  next  century  we  have  N.  D.  de  Huy  (1311),  the  beautiful 
parish  church  at  Aerschot  (1337),  and  N.  D.  de  Hal  (1341),  —  small  but 
elegant  places  of  worship.  The  two  crowning  examples,  however,  of 
this  age  are  N.  D.  of  Antwerp  (1352-1411),  and  St.  Rombaut,  Malines. 
The  choir  of  this  latter  church  was  dedicated  in  the  year  1366,  having 
been  commenced  about  the  same  time  as  that  at  Antwerp,  but  the 
nave  was  not  erected  till  a  century  afterwards  (1456-1464),  and  the 
tower  was  not  carried  even  to  its  present  height  till  the  16th  century. 

Antwerp  cathedral  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  churches  in 


596 


BELGIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Paut  II. 


Europe,  being  390  feet  long  by  170  in  width  inside  the  nave,  and  cover- 
ing rather  more  than  70,000  square  feet.  As  will  be  seen  by  the  plan. 
(Woodcut  No.  445),  it  is  divided  into  seven  aisles,  which  gives  a  vast 
intricacy  and  picturesqueness  to  the  perspective ;  but  there  is  a  want 

of  harmony  among  the  parts, 
and  of  subordination  and 
proportion,  sadly  destruc- 
tive of  true  architectural 
effect;  so  that,  notwith- 
standing its  size,  it  looks 
much  smaller  internally 
than  many  of  the  French 
cathedrals  of  far  smaller 
dimensions.  If  the  length 
of  the  nave  had  been  divided 
into  ten  bays  instead  of  only 
six,  and  the  central  aisle  had 
been  at  least  10  feet  wider, 
which  space  could  easily 
have  been  spared  from  the 
outer  one,  the  apparent  size 
of  the  church  would  have 
been  greatly  increased  ;  but 
besides  this  it  wants  height, 
and  its  details  show  a  deca- 
dence which  nothing  can 
redeem. 

Its  magnificent  portal, 
with  its  one  finished  tower, 
406  feet  in  height,  Avas  com- 
menced in  1422,  but  only  fin- 
ished in  1518,  and  is  more  in  accordance  with  the  taste  of  the  16th  cen- 
tury than  of  the  original  design.  Although  from  the  lateness  of  its  date, 
it  is  impossible  to  be  satisfied  either  with  the  outline  or  the  detail,  it  is 
still  so  gorgeous  a  specimen  of  art,  and  towers  so  nobly  over  the  build- 
ings of  the  city,  as  to  extort  our  admiration,  and  a  man  must  have  very 
little  feeling  for  the  poetry  of  art  who  can  stop  to  criticise  it  too  closely. 

The  spire  at  Chartres  (Woodcut  No.  393)  is  more  elegant  in  out- 
line, but  the  design  of  its  base  does  not  accord  with  that  of  the  upper 
part,  and  its  effect  is  injured  by  the  great  height  of  the  building  to 
which  it  is  attached.  That  at  Strasburg  is  very  inferior  in  outline, 
so  is  St.  Stephen's  at  Vienna,  and  it  is  not  quite  clear  that  the  open- 
work spires  of  Friburg  and  Cologne  are  not  mistakes.  The  base  of 
the  Antwerp  spire  is  perfect  in  proportion,  and  good  in  detail ;  the 
caprice  begins  only  when  near  the  top,  where  it  constructively  can  do 


445.   Plan  of  the  Cathedral  at  Antwerp.   Scale  100 
feet  to  1  in. 


Bk.  111.  Cu.  I. 


CATHEDRAL  AT  ANTWERP. 


597 


no  harm,  and  is  nuich  less  offensive  than  it  would  be  lower  down.  It 
is  not  perfect,  but  taking  it  altogether  it  is  perhaps  the  most  beautiful 
thing  of  its  kind  in  Europe. 

It  is  a  great  question  if  the  second  spire,  were  it  completed  as 
originally  designed,  would  add  to,  or  detract  from,  the  beauty  of  the 
composition.  An  unfinished  design  is  always  unpleasing,  but,  on  the 
whole,  twin  spires,  without  a  very  prominent  central  object,  do  not 
seem  a  j^leasing  form  of  design. 

The  church  of  St.  Rombaut  at  Malines,  though  very  much  smaller 
than  that  at  Antwerp,  being  only  300  ft.  in  length  internally,  and 
including  the  tower,  only  385  ft.  over  all  externally,  is  still  a  far  more 
satisfactory  chur^^h  in  every  respect.  Indeed,  it  is  one  of  the  finest 
of  those  which  have  round  pillars  in  the  nave  instead  of  the  clustered 
columns  which  give  such  beauty  and  such  meaning  to  most  of  the 
churches  of  this  age.  It  was  originally  designed  to  have  one  western 
spire,  which,  if  completed,  would  have  risen  to  the  height  of  nearly 
550  English  feet.  It  was  never  carried  higher  than  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  spire,  320  ft.,  and  at  that  height  it  now  remains.  Even 
as  it  is,  it  is  one  of  the  noblest  erections  of  the  Middle  Ages,  the 
immense  depth  of  its  buttresses  and  the  boldness  of  its  outline  giving 
it  a  character  seldom  surpassed. 

St.  Pierre's  of  Louvain,  is  a  worthy  rival  of  these  two  ;  for  though 
perhaps  a  century  more  modern,  or  nearly  so,  it  seems  to  have  been 
built  at  once  on  a  uniform  and  well-digested  jjlan,  which  gives  to  the 
whole  building  a  congruity  which  goes  far  to  redeem  the  defects  in 
its  details.  The  fayade,  which  would  have  rendered  it  the  noblest 
building  of  the  three,  has  never  been  completed.  It  was  designed  on 
the  true  German  principle  of  a  great  western  screen,  surmounted  by 
three  spires,  the  central  one  535  ft.  in  height,  the  other  two  430  ft. 
each.^ 

Where  suflScient  width  can  be  obtained,  this  seems  a  legitimate 
and  pleasing  form  of  composition.  Twin  towers  like  those  designed 
from  Cologne,  Strasburg,  and  Antwerp,  would  overpower  any  church, 
and  are  wanting  in  variety.  Two  small  towers,  with  one  taller 
between,  is  a  more  pleasing  composition,  though  equally  destructive 
to  the  effect  of  the  building  behind.  The  English  plan  of  three  spires, 
as  at  Litchfield,  is  by  far  the  most  pleasing  arrangement ;  but  this 
form  the  continental  architects  never  attempted  on  an  extensive  scale, 
and  consequently  the  single  spire,  as  at  Malines  or  Ulm,  is  perhaps 
the  most  satisfactory  solution  of  the  difficulty.  If  not  that,  then  the 
triple  spired  facade  designed  for  Louvain  would  probably  be  the  best. 

Those  above  enumerated  are  certainly  the  finest  specimens  of 


A  beautiful  drawing  of  this  facade 
to  a  very  large  scale  still  exists  in  the 
town-hall  in  the  city,  as  well  as  a  model 


in  stone,  from  which  the  intended  eflfeof 
may  be  seen. 


598 


BELGIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


Belgian  ecclesiastical  art.  Almost  all  the  churches  erected  afterwards, 
though  some  of  them  very  beautiful,  are  characterized  by  the  elaborate 
weakness  of  their  age.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  St.  Gommaire 
at  Lierre,  commenced  a.  d.  1425,  but  not  completed  till  nearly  a  cen- 
tury afterwards ;  and  St.  Jacques  at  Antwerp,  a  large  and  gorgeous 
church,  possessing  size  and  proportion  worthy  of  the  best  age,  but 
still  unsatisfactory  from  the  absence  of  anything  like  true  art  or  design 
pervading  it.  The  same  remarks  do  not  apply  to  St.  Waudru  at  Mons, 
1450-1528,  one  of  the  very  best  specimens  of  its  age  —  pleasing  in  pro- 
portion and  elegant  in  detail.  Internally  a  charming  effect  of  poly- 
chroniy  is  produced  by  the  cold  blue  color  of  the  stone,  contrasted 
with  the  red-brick  filling-in  of  the  vault ;  this  contrast  being  evidently 
a  part  of  the  original  design.  By  some  singular  freak  of  destiny  it 
has  escaped  whitewash,  so  that  we  have  here  one  instance  at  least  of 
a  true  mode  of  decoration,  and  to  a  certain  extent  a  very  good  one. 
The  exterior  of  this  church  is  also  extremely  pleasing  for  its  age.  Its 
tower  and  spire  are  unfortunately  among  those  that  we  know  only 
from  the  original  drawings,  which  are  still  preserved,  and  show  a  very 
beautiful  design. 

Of  about  the  same  age  (1522-1558)  is  St.  Jacques  at  Liege  (Wood- 
cut No.  446),  a  church  of  the  second  class  in  point  of  size,  being  only 

254  feet  in  length  internally,  by  92  ft. 
across  the  nave.  At  the  west  end  it  still 
retains  the  screen  of  the  old  church, 
marked  darker  on  the  plan.  The  prin- 
cipal entrance  is  a  splendid  porch  of 
flamboyant  design  on  the  north.  The 
east  end  may  be  said  to  be  a  compromise 
between  the  French  and  German  methods, 
for  it  is  not  a  chevet,  inasmuch  as  it  has 
not  the  circumscribing  aisle,  while  its 
circlet  of  chapels  prevents  its  being  con- 
sidered as  a  German  apse.  Altogether 
the  plan  is  characteristic  of  its  locality, 
on  the  borders  of  France  and  Germany, 
for  in  it  we  find  mixed  together  most  of 
the  peculiarities  of  both  countries.  For 
its  age  too  the  details  are  generally  good, 
but  as  construction  was  no  longer  the 
ruling  motive,  confusion  is  the  result. 
446.  Plan  of  stT Jacques,  Li^^  (From  The  most  remarkable  thing  about  the 
^'^'"''sclSwo'r^^^^^^  church  is,  that  it  is  one  of  the  very  few 

churches  in  Europe  which  retain  their 
polychromatic  decorations  in  anything  like  completeness,  especially 
on  the  roof.    The  paintings,  however,  are  of  late  date,  bordering  on 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  L 


GOTHIC  CIIUIK^IIES. 


599 


the  cinque-cento  period  ;  yet  the  effect  produced,  though  gorgeous, 
is  remarkjil)ly  pleasing  and  beautiful,  and  is  in  itself  sufficient  to  set 
at  rest  the  question  as  to  the  expediency  of  painting  the  vaults  of 
churches,  or  leaving  them  plain.  My  own  conviction  is,  that  all 
French  vaults  were  once  painted  to  as  great  an  extent  as  in  this  case. 
Our  English  architects  often  probably  depended  only  on  form  and 
carving  for  effect,  but  on  the  Continent  it  was  otherwise. 

Of  the  remaining  churches,  St.  Bavon's  at  (Tlient,  and  St.  Martin's 
at  Liege,  both  commenced,  as  they  now  stand,  in  the  middle  of  the 
16th  century,  are  among  the  most  remarkable,  and  for  their  age  are 
wonderfully  free  from  any  traces  of  the  Renaissance.  At  the  same 
age  in  France,  or  even  in  England,  they  would  liave  been  Italianized 
to  a  far  greater  extent. 

There  is  scarcely  a  second-rate  town  or  even  a  village  in  Belgium 
that  does  not  j^ossess  a  church  of  more  or  less  importance  of  the 
Gothic  age,  or  one  at  all  events  possessing  some  fragment  or  detail 
worthy  of  attentive  study.  This  circumstance  is  easily  explained 
from  the  fact  that  during  the  whole  of  the  Mediaeval  period,  from  the 
10th  to  the  16th  century,  Belgium  was  rich  and  prosperous,  and  since 
that  time  till  the  present  comparatively  so  poor  as  to  have  had  neither 
ambition  to  destroy  nor  power  to  rebuild.  Considering  its  extent, 
the  country  is  indubitably  richer  in  monuments  than  France,  or  per- 
haps than  any  other  country  in  Europe ;  but  the  architecture  is  neither 
so  good  or  satisfactory  nor  of  so  high  a  class. 


600 


BELGIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


CHAPTER  II. 

CONTENTS. 

Civil  Architecture  —  Belfries  —  Hall  at  Ypres  —  Louvain  —  Brussels  —  Domestic 

Architecture. 

WHATEVER  opinion  we  may  form  as  to  her  ecclesiastical  edi- 
fices, the  real  architectural  pre-eminence  of  Belgium  consists  in 
her  civil,  or  rather  her  municipal  buildings,  which  surpass  those  of  any 
other  country.  None  of  these  are  very  old,  which  is  easily  accounted 
for.  The  rise  of  commercial  enterprise  in  Belgium,  though  early 
compared  with  other  European  nations,  was  more  recent  than  the  age 
of  military  and  ecclesiastical  supremacy,  and  men  were  consequently 
obliged  to  erect  castles  to  protect  their  property  against  robbers,  and 
churches  for  their  religious  wants,  before  they  could  think  of  council- 
halls  or  municipal  edifices. 

In  the  12th  century,  when  the  monarchy  of  France  was  consoli- 
dating itself,  the  cities  of  Belgium  were  gradually  acquiring  that 
wealth  and  those  rights  and  privileges  which  soon  placed  them  among 
the  independent  and  most  prosperous  communities  of  Europe.  One 
of  the  earliest  architectural  expressions  of  their  newly-acquired  inde- 
pendence was  the  erection  of  a  belfry.  The  right  of  possessing  a  bell 
was  one  of  the  first  privileges  granted  in  all  old  charters,  not  only  as 
a  symbol  of  power,  but  as  the  means  of  calling  the  community 
together,  either  with  arms  in  their  hands  to  defend  their  walls,  to 
repress  internal  tumults,  for  the  election  of  magistrates,  or  for  delib- 
eration on  the  affairs  of  the  commonwealth.  The  tower,  too,  in  which 
the  bell  was  hung  was  a  symbol  of  power  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and, 
whether  on  the  banks  of  the  Scheldt  or  the  Po,  the  first  care  of  every 
enfranchised  community  was  to  erect  a  "tower  of  pride"  propor- 
tionate to  their  greatness. 

The  tower,  moreover,  was  generally  the  record-office  of  the  city, 
the  place  where  the  charters  and  more  important  deeds  were  pre- 
served secure  from  fire,  and  in  a  place  sufficiently  fortified  to  protect 
them  in  the  event  of  civic  disturbances. 

All  these  uses  have  passed  away,  and  most  of  the  belfries  have 
either  fallen  into  neglect  or  been  removed  or  appropriated  to  other 
purposes.  Of  those  remaining,  the  oldest  seems  to  be  that  of  Tour- 
nay,  a  fine  tower,  though  a  good  deal  altered  and  its  effect  destroyed 
by  more  modern  additions. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


BELFRIES  —  MUNICIPAL  HALLS. 


601 


The  belfry  at  Ghent  was  commenced  in  1183,  but  the  stone-work 
was  only  completed  in  1337.  In  1376  a  wooden  spire  was  placed 
upon  it,  making  up  the  height  to  237  ft.  Tliis  has 
been  recently  taken  down  in  order  to  complete  the 
tower  according  to  tlie  original  design,  which,  like 
that  of  most  of  the  unfinished  buildings  of  Belgium, 
has  been  carefully  preserved.  When  finished  it  will 
be  about  300  ft.  in  height,  and  one  of  the  finest  bel- 
fries in  the  country.  The  Woodcut  No.  447  is  a  re- 
duction of  the  original  drawing,  which,  though  not 
so  perfect  as  some  others,  gives  a  fair  idea  of  what 
it  is  intended  to  be. 

The  belfry  of  Brussels  was  one  of  the  finest  in 
the  country,  but  after  various  misfortunes  it  fell  in 
1714,  and  is  only  known  now  by  a  model  still  pre- 
served in  the  city. 

At  Ypres  and  Bruges  the  belfries  form  part  of  tlie 
great  halls  of  the  city.  Those  at  Lierre,  Nieuport, 
Alost,  Furnes,  and  other  cities,  have  been  all  more 
or  less  destroyed  by  alterations,  and  are  more  in- 
teresting to  the  antiquary  than  to  the  arcliitec-t  • 
moreover,  like  the  cities  themselves,  they  never  could 
have  been  of  the  first  class,  or  remarkable  for  any 
extraordinary  magnificence. 


Belfry  at  Glieiit. 
(From  the  origiuul 
drawing.) 


The  great  municipal  halls,  which  are  found  in  all 
the  principal  cities  of  Belgium,  are  of  three  classes  : 
—  1.  Town-halls  —  the  municipal  senate-houses  and 
courts  of  justice.  2.  Trade-halls  or  market-houses, 
the  principal  of  which  were  cloth-halls,  cloth  having 
been  the  great  staple  manufacture  of  Belgium  during 
the  Middle  Ages.  And  lastly  Guildhalls,  or  the 
separate  places  of  assembly  of  the  different  guilds  or  associated  trades 
of  the  cities. 

As  far  as  existing  examples  go,  it  would  appear  that  the  trade- 
halls  were  the  first  erected.  The  cloth-hall  at  Ypres  is  by  far  the 
most  magnificent  and  beautiful  of  these,  as  also  the  earliest.  The 
foundation-stone  was  laid  in  1200  by  Baldwin  of  Constantinople,  but 
it  was  not  finished  till  104  years  afterwards.  The  facade  is  440  ft.  in 
length,  and  of  the  simplest  possible  design,  being  perfectly  straight 
and  unbroken  from  end  to  end.  The  windows  of  each  story,  all  of 
one  design,  are  repeated,  not  only  along  the  whole  front,  but  at  each; 
end.  Its  height  is  varied  by  the  noble  belfry  which  rises  from  its. 
centre,  and  by  a  bold  and  beautiful  pinnacle  at  each  end.  The  whole 
is  of  the  pure  architecture  of  the  13th  century,  and  is  one  of  the  most 


602 


BELGIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  II. 


majestic  edifices  of  its  class  to  be  seen  anywhere.  It  might  perhaps 
have  been  improved  by  the  greater  degree  of  expression  and  the 
bolder  shadows  which  lines  brought  down  to  tlie  ground  would  have 

t 


I 


■148.   Clotli-liall  at  Ypres. 


given  to  it,  but  us  it  is,  it  is  extremely  pleasing  from  its  simplicity 
and  the  perfect  adaptation  of  its  exterior  to  its  internal  arrangements. 
These  consist  of  one  vast  hall  on  the  ground-floor,  supported  by  several 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  II. 


TOWN-HAI.LS. 


603 


ranges  of  columns,  with  long  galleries  and  great  halls  above  it  for  the 
Mse  of  the  trade  to  which  it  was  aj)|)ropriated. 

The  town-hall  at  Bruges  is  perhaps  the  oldest  building  erected 
especially  for  that  purpose  in  Belgium,  the  foundation-stone  having 
been  laid  in  1377.  It  is  a  small  building,  being  only  88  ft.  in  front  by 
65  in  depth,  and  of  a  singularly  pure  and  elegant  design.  Its  small 
size  causes  it  to  suffer  considerably  from  its  immediate  proximity  to 
the  cloth-hall  and  other  trade-halls  of  the  city.  These,  grouped  with 
the  belfry  in  their  centre,  occupy  one  end  of  the  great  Place,  and, 
though  not  remarkable  for  beauty,  either  of  design  or  detail,  still 
form  a  most  imposing  mass.  The  belfry  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
towers  in  the  country.  Its  original  height  was  356  ft.,  which  was 
diminished  by  about  60  ft.  by  the  removal  of  the  spire  in  1741,  though 
it  still  towers  above  all  the  buildings  of  the  city,  and  in  that  flat 
country  is  seen  far  and  wide. 

The  finest  of  the  town-halls  of  Belgium,  built  originally  as  such, 
is  that  of  Brussels  (Woodcut  No.  449),  commenced  in  1401,  and  finished 
in  1455.  In  dimensions  it  is  inferior  to  the  cloth-hall  at  Ypres,  being 
only  264  ft.  in  length  by  about  50  in  depth,  and  its  details,  as  may  be 
supposed  from  its  age,  are  less  pure ;  but  the  spire  that  surmounts  its 
centre,  rising  to  the  height  of  374  ft.,  is  unrivalled  for  beauty  of 
outline  and  design  by  any  spire  in  Belgium,  and  is  entitled  to  take 
rank  among  the  noblest  examples  of  the  class  in  Europe.  NotAvith- 
standing  its  late  age,  there  is  no  extravagance,  either  in  design  or 
detail,  about  it ;  but  the  mode  in  which  the  octagon  is  placed  on  the 
square,  and  the  outline  broken  and  varied  by  the  bold  and  important 
pinnacles  that  group  around  it,  produce  a  most  pleasing  variety, 
without  interfering  with  the  main  constructive  lines  of  the  building. 
The  spire,  properly  so  called,  is  sinall,  so  that  its  open-work  tracery 
is  pleasing  and  appropriate,  which  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  some 
of  its  German  rivals,  in  which  this  mode  of  ornamentation  is  quite 
unsuited  to  the  large  scale  on  which  it  is  attempted. 

Next  in  importance  to  this  is  the  well-known  and  beautiful  town- 
hall  at  Louvain  (1448-1463),  certainly  the  most  elaborately  decorated" 
piece  of  Gothic  architecture  in  existence.  Though,  perhaps,  a  little 
overdone  in  some  parts,  the  whole  is  so  consistent,  and  the  outline 
and  general  scheme  of  decoration  so  good,  that  little  fault  can  be 
found  with  it.  In  design  it  follows  very  closely  the  hall  at  Bruges, 
but  wants  the  tower,  which  gives  such  dignity  to  those  at  Brussels 
and  Ypres. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  same  century  (1481)  the  inhabitants  of 
Ghent  determined  on  the  erection  of  a  town-hall,  which,  had  it  ever 
been  finished,  would  have  surpassed  all  the  others  in  size  and  richness, 
though  whether  it  would  have  equalled  them  in  beauty  is  more  than 
doubtful.    After  a  century  of  interrupted  labor  the  design  was  aban- 


604 


BELGIAN  ARCHITECTURE. 


Part  IL 


Bk.  hi.  Ch.  II. 


TOWN-HALLS. 


605 


doned  before  it  was  more  than  two-thirds  completed,  and  now  tliat 
age  has  softened  down  its  extravagances,  it  is  a  pleasing  and  perhaps 
beautiful  building.  Nothing,  however,  can  exceed  the  extent  of  tor- 
mented and  unmeaning  ornament  that  is  spread  over  every  part  of  it, 
showing  great  richness  certainly,  but  frequently  degenerating  into 
very  bad  taste.  The  architecture  of  the  hall  at  Ypres,  though  only 
half  or  one-third  as  costly  in  proportion  to  its  extent,  is  far  nobler  and 
more  satisfactory  than  this  ever  could  have  been.  But  when  erected 
the  day  of  true  art  was  past,  and  its  place  was  sought  to  be  supplied 
by  extent  of  ornament. 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  town-hall  at  Oudenarde,  a  building 
evidently  meant  as  a  copy  of  that  at  Louvain,  but  having  combined 
with  it  a  belfry  in  imitation  of  that  at  Brussels.  The  result  is 
certainly  rich  and  pleasing  in  general  effect ;  but  the  details  inci- 
dental to  its  age  (1525)  have  marred  the  execution,  and  given  to  the 
whole  a  clumsiness  and  a  flimsiness  that  greatly  detract  from  its 
beauty.  Even  the  effect  of  the  belfry  is  spoiled  by  the  temptation  to 
exhibit  a  masonic  trick,  and  make  it  appear  as  if  standing  on  the  two 
slight  pillars  of  the  porch.  It  is  clever,  but  apparent  stability  is 
as  necessary  to  true  architectural  beauty  as  real  stability  is  to  the 
dignity  of  art. 

Among  the  smaller  halls  that  of  Mons  is  perhaps  the  most  elegant, 
and  is  very  similar  to  that  of  St.  Quentin,  which,  though  now  in  France, 
was  a  Flemish  city  at  the  time  of  its  erection. 

In  the  days  of  her  magnificence  Mechlin  attempted  the  erection 
of  a  splendid  hall,  which  was  intended  to  rival  those  of  any  of  the 
neighboring  towns.  Civic  troubles,  however,  put  a  stop  to  the  work 
befoi-e  it  was  carried  so  far  as  to  enable  us  now  even  to  determine 
what  the  original  design  may  have  been. 

Among  minor  edifices  of  the  same  class  may  be  mentioned  the 
cloth-halls  of  Louvain  and  Ghent,  both  of  the  best  age,  though  small ; 
and  the  Boucheries  or  meat-markets  of  Diest,  Ypres,  Antwerp,  and 
other  towns  —  the  boatmen's  lodge  at  Ghent,  and  the  burgesses'  lodge 
at  Bruges,  besides  numerous  other  scattered  memorials  of  civic  magni- 
ficence that  meet  one  everywhere  in  this  great  emporium  of  Mediaeval 
industry. 

Of  palaces,  properly  so  called,  little  remains  m  Belgium  worthy  of 
notice,  unless  it  be  the  palace  of  the  Bishop  of  Liege  (Woodcut  No. 
450),  which,  as  far  as  size  and  richness  of  decoration  are  concerned, 
almost  deserves  the  reputation  it  has  attained.  It  was,  however, 
unfortunately  commenced  at  an  age  (1508)  when  the  Gothic  style, 
especially  in  civil  buildings,  was  all  but  extinct,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  admire  its  stunted  columns  and  flat  arches  in  such  immediate 
proximity  to  the  purer  works  of  the  preceding  centuries. 

Of  the  same  age  and  style  was  the  Exchange  at  Antwerp  (1515). 


606 


BELGIAN  AUCHITECTUEE. 


Part  II. 


This  building  was  more  pleasing  in  its  details  :  and,  though  com- 
menced a  few  years  later,  its  simpler  and  more  monumental  character 

seems  to  have  preserved  it  from 
the  individual  caprices  which  are 
apparent  in  tlje  palace,  and  which 
became  the  fatal  characteristic 
of  all  future  designs.  Neither  of 
these  buildings  can,  however,  be 
called  in  strictness  Gothic  designs, 
for  the  true  spirit  of  that  art  had 
perished  before  they  were  com- 
menced. 

Many  of  the  private  dwelling- 
houses  in  the  Flemish  cities  are 
]:>icturesque  and  elegant,  though 
hardly  rising  to  the  grade  of 
specimens  of  fine  art;  but  when 
grouped  together  in  tlie  narrow 
winding  streets,  or  along  the 
banks  of  the  canals,  the  result  is 
so  varied  and  charming  that  we 
are  inclined  to  ascribe  to  them 

450.   I'art  of  Bishop's  Palace,  Liege.  No  scale.  -   u.  •     •      i         4.      *i  „  +1 

^  more  intrinsic  beauty  than  they 

really  possess  as  individual  designs.  Most  of  them  are  of  brick, 
and  the  brick  being  used  undisguisedly,  and  the  buildings  depending 
wholly  on  such  forms  as  could  be  given  to  that  material,  they  never 
offend  our  taste  by  shams ;  and  the  honest  endeavor  of  tlie  citizens 
to  ornament  their  dwellings  externally,  meets  here  with  the  success 
that  must  always  follow  such  an  attempt.  To  exhibit  this  class  of 
structures  adequately  would  require  far  more  illustration  than  is 
com])atible  with  a  work  like  the  present,  and  would  occupy  the  space 
tliat  more  properly  belongs  to  buildings  of  a  larger  and  more  monu- 
mental class,  and  of  higher  pretensions  to  architectural  effect,  both 
in  their  design  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  carried  out. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  III. 


CHURCHES. 


607 


CHAPTER  III. 
HOLLAND. 

CONTENTS. 

Churches  —  Civil  and  Domestic  Buildings. 

THE  moment  we  pass  the  boundary  line  which  separates  Belgium 
from  Holland,  we  feel  that  we  have  stepped  at  once  into  a  new 
architectural  province.  At  last  we  have  got  among  a  people  of  pure 
Aryan  or  Teutonic  race,  without  one  trace  of  Turanian  or  Celtic 
blood  in  their  veins,  and  who,  consequently,  carry  out  their  architect- 
ural designs  with  a  matter-of-fact  simplicity  that  is  edifying,  if  not 
charming.  It  is  not  that  the  kingdom  of  Holland  is  deficient  in  the 
possession  of  Mediaeval  churches  —  far  from  it  —  she  possesses  as 
many  Gothic  cathedrals  as  we  do,  and  their  average  dimensions  are 
equal  to  those  which  adorn  this  island ;  they  belong  also  to  the  same 
age :  but  the  result  is  wonderfully  different. 

The  Dutch  did  not  work  out  any  part  of  the  style  for  themselves ; 
they  attempted  no  novelties,  and  did  not  even  give  themselves  the 
trouble  to  understand  perfectly  the  style  they  were  employing. 
They  were  then,  as  now,  a  religious  people,  and  wanted  churches, 
and  built  them  according  to  the  only  pattern  then  available.  No  one 
can  say  that  their  cliurclies  were  not  pei'fectly  adapted  to  the  form 
of  worship  then  prevalent,  and  in  dimensions  and  dignity  perfectly 
suited  to  the  wants  of  the  communities  who  erected  them.  Notwith- 
standing all  this,  they  are  only  vast  warehouses  of  devotion,  and  are 
utter  failures  as  works  of  art. 

If  any  one  wishes  to  perfectly  realize  the  difference  between  mere 
ornamental  construction  and  ornamental  construction  which  is  also 
ornamented,  he  cannot  do  better  than  study  carefully  the  design  of 
these  Dutch  churches.  Their  dimensions  are  frequently  grand,  their 
proportions  generally  pleasing,  and  the  subordination  of  the  parts  to 
each  other  often  most  judicious.  On  the  other  hand,  the  pillars  of  the 
pier  arches  are  almost  always  round  —  the  vaulting  shafts  poor,  and 
never  carried  to  a  sufficient  resting-place  —  the  windows  want  mullions 
and  tracery — the  vaults  are  domed  and  stilted  —  the  ribs  lean  —  and 
everything,  in  fact,  is  pared  down  as  closely  to  mere  utility  as  is  pos- 
sible in  sucli  a  style.  In  France  or  in  England,  in  the  same  age, 
every  stone  would  have  spoken  out  and  had  a  meaning ;  and  every 


HOLLAND. 


Part  IL 


detail  would  not  only  have  been  in  its  right  place,  but  would  have 
expressed  the  reason  of  its  being  there,  and  the  purpose  to  which  it 
was  applied. 

To  the  want  of  artistic  feeling,  or  real  knowledge  of  the  style, 
which  is  shown  in  the  designs  of  the  Dutch  churches,  must  be  added 
the  inferiority  of  the  material  in  which  they  were  carried  out.  Some 
are  wholly  of  brick,  and  few  are  entirely  of  stone,  though  most  of 
them  have  an  admixture  of  the  nobler  material  —  and  where  brick 
is  employed,  without  great  care  and  artistic  feeling,  the  result  is 
generally  poor  and  unsatisfactory. 

Judged  by  their  dimensions  alone,  the  churches  of  Holland  ought 
to  be  almost  as  interesting  as  those  of  Belgium,  for  they  are  generally 
large,  with  lofty  and  well-proportioned  aisles,  and  transepts  which 
project  boldly.  They  have  frequently  tall  and  not  ungraceful  western 
towers,  and  sometimes  large  windows  filled  with  good  tracery,  though 
mostly  of  a  late  age.  Notwithstanding  all  these  requisites  of  a  per- 
fect Gothic  church,  there  is  not  one  of  them  that  must  not  be  consid- 
ered a  failure,  from  the  causes  just  mentioned. 

These  remarks  apply  especially  to  the  great  churches  at  Haai-lem, 
Leyden,  and  Rotterdam,  two  at  Amsterdam,  and  the  two  at  Delft,, 
the  older  of  which  contain  some  details  worthy  of  attention.  That 
at  Gouda  is  remarkable  for  tlie  beauty  of  its  painted  glass,  though 
the  architecture  of  the  church  is  very  unworthy  of  so  brilliant  an 
ornament. 

The  church  at  Dort  is  older  than  most  of  these,  and  has  a  venera- 
ble look  about  it  that  hides  many  of  the  faults  of  its  architecture,  but 
it  will  not  bear  examination. 

The  churches  of  Utrecht  and  Bois  le  Due  are  to  some  extent 
exceptions  to  the  general  poverty  of  design  which  characterizes  the 
churches  of  Holland.  This  is  owing,  probably,  to  the  situation  of  these 
two  churches  on  the  verge  of  the  province,  and  their  jiroximity  to 
Belgium  and  Germany.  That  at  Utrecht  consists  at  the  j)resent  day 
of  merely  two  fragments  —  a  choir  and  a  tower,  the  nave  that  joined 
them  having  been  destroyed  by  a  storm  and  never  replaced.  What 
remains  is  good  late  German,  though  it  is  much  disfigured  by  modern 
additions.  The  church  at  Bois  le  Due  is  still  a  large  and  richly  orna- 
<iiented  church,  with  a  good  deal  of  stone-work  about  it ;  but  being 
too  large  for  the  decaying  town  in  which  it  stands,  it  has  suffered 
much  from  neglect,  and  is  now  in  a  very  ruinous  condition. 

The  church  at  Kampen,  on  the  Zuyder  Zee,  is  better  than  most 
others,  and  many  of  the  smaller  churches  on  the  borders  of  the  prov- 
ince are  worthy  of  more  attention  than  they  have  received.  There 
are  few  abbeys  or  monastic  buildings  of  any  importance  to  be  found, 
such  establishments  never  having  been  suited  to  the  industrious 
character  of  the  Dutch  people. 


Bk.  III.  Ch.  III.         CIVIL  AND  DOMESTIC  BUILDINGS. 


609 


Bad  as  are  the  churches  of  Holland,  the  town-halls  and  civic 
buildings  are  even  worse.  There  is  not,  in  the  whole  of  the 
Netherlands,  one  that  can  be  classed  as  a  work  of  fine  art.  Even 
age  has  been  unable  to  render  them  tolerably  picturesque ;  nor  are 
there  m  the  province  any  belfries  with  their  picturesque  forms,  nor 
any  palaces  worthy  of  note,  which  belong  to  the  Middle  Ages.  The 
older  dwelling-houses  are  sometimes  picturesque  and  pleasing,  but 
less  so  than  those  of  Belgium.  Most  of  them  are  unpretending 
specimens  of  honest  building,  the  result  of  which  is  often  satisfac^ 
tory ;  and  combined,  as  they  generally  are  in  Dutch  towns,  with  water 
and  trees,  and  with  the  air  of  neatness  and  comfort  which  pervades 
the  whole,  we  sometimes  scarcely  feel  inclined  to  quarrel  with  the 
absence  of  higher  elements  of  art  when  so  pleasing  a  result  has  been 
produced  without  them. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  it  might  be  well  worth  while  to  give  one 
or  two  examples  of  the  plans  and  illustrations  of  some  of  the  churches 
in  Holland  in  a  work  like  the  present,  not  so  much  for  their  own  sake, 
as  for  comparison  with  other  buildings  ;  but  the  materials  do  not  exist. 
The  Dutch  have  shown  the  same  indifference  to  the  conservation  of 
their  Mediaeval  monuments  which  their  forefathers  exhibited  in  their 
erection,  and  not  one  has  been  edited  in  modern  times  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  admit  of  being  quoted. ^  The  history  of  this  variety 
remains  for  the  present  to  be  written,  but  fortunately  it  is  one  of  the 
least  important  of  its  class. 


*  A  large  work  was  commenced  a  few 
years  ago  on  the  church  at  Bois  le  Due ; 
but  after  the  first  numbers  it  seems  to 

VOL.  I.  — 39 


have  been  discontinued,  and  has  not 
been  since  heard  of  —  in  this  country  at 
least. 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


